A new doctoral program in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine is set to launch in the fall of 2012. Approved by the Faculty Senate on April 28, the interdisciplinary program will draw not only from the biomedical sciences but also from the law, business and engineering schools.
Renee Reijo Pera, professor of obstetrics and gynecology, will direct the program. The goal of the doctoral program is to create leaders who will, in Reijo Pera’s words, “change the world” by translating basic stem cell biology into cures and clinical therapies.
According to School of Medicine press release, the first class will be made up of three to six students. The program will eventually enroll a total of 24 students.
“Even without [an official] website, we are getting so many emails from students who want more information about our program,” Reijo Pera said.
Students will be required to take three broad biomedical sciences courses, called Stem Cell Biology 1, 2 and 3. They will also have the option of taking additional courses in law, engineering and business. Another unique component of the program is that students will undergo a clinical rotation where they will shadow surgeons and physicians.
According to Reijo Pera, Stanford is truly “special” in that it already has the faculty in place to begin the program. When she and her colleagues first considered founding a new doctoral program in stem cell biology, they seriously debated another possibility: the expansion of the current graduate program in the biomedical sciences.
“We thought about all the options. We looked at the possibility of expanding some of the programs currently in place,” Reijo Pera said. “After really thinking about it, we came to the conclusion that stem cell biology and regenerative medicine are really unique.”
“We couldn’t find a natural home for the program to fit into,” she added. “And so, we established a new one.”
According to Reijo Pera, stem cell biology and regenerative medicine have not grown out of a single discipline; they have evolved from the “biology of what is a stem cell” and the “engineering of material for differentiation” into the arena of regenerative medicine.
“Establishing a graduate program in stem cell biology is really kind of a big deal,” she said.
By doing so, Stanford has fulfilled what Reijo Pera considers is one of its more important functions as an academic institution — namely, recognizing what constitutes a discipline and what does not.
According to Reijo Pera, stem cell biology is very similar to the fields of genetics, biochemistry and molecular biology, which all began as divisions of biology but have now evolved, after initial controversy, into their own disciplines.
“For Stanford to approve [a program in] stem cell biology and regenerative biology means that they recognize the field as a discipline and believe that it’s not going to diminish in importance,” Reijo Pera said.
“We wouldn’t start a program if we thought this was just a fad,” she added.
She expects a degree in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine to be marketable and highly valuable.
Because California passed Proposition 71 in 2004 after the federal government restricted funding for stem cell research, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine accorded Stanford $186 million to pursue further research. This has allowed Stanford to not only fund the new doctoral program in stem cell biology but also to construct the new Lorry I. Lokey Stem Cell Research Building and recruit top stem cell researchers who will teach the new doctoral students.
“We want to make this the best program in the world,” Reijo Pera said. “Along with that, we want to make sure that our classes are the best, our students are the best and our faculty do the best they can in teaching them.”
However, starting a new program — planning courses, creating a website and raising funds — is not so easy.
“I celebrated the first day and then I started worrying about the details the next day,” she laughed. “There’s a lot of work.”