Introduction

Policy Statement

Research with human embryonic stem cells offers significant potential to further our understanding of fundamental biology and to develop cell-based therapies to treat disease. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Illinois) supports the responsible pursuit of research involving the use of Federally-registered human embryonic stem cells and human adult stem cells.

The University’s policy is to ensure that research involving the use of human embryonic stem cells is conducted in a manner consistent with the guidelines established by state and federal regulations. This research must also, as appropriate, be in compliance with University policies governing human subjects’ research as well as research with biological materials.

UIUC has adopted the major recommendations outlined in the Guidelines for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research prepared by the National Research Council in collaboration with the Institute of Medicine. These guidelines, intended to “ensure that the highest ethical, legal, and scientific standards are met in the derivation, storage, and use of [human embryonic stem cells] in research,” govern research utilizing human embryonic stem cells derived from human blastocysts initially intended for use in reproductive or research-related in vitro fertilization techniques as well as somatic cell nuclear transfer into oocytes. UIUC will also follow the guidelines published by the Illinois Regenerative Medicine Institute.

Under current federal guidelines research involving non-approved embryonic stem cell lines (i.e., those not registered with the NIH) requires special administrative provisions to ensure that the federal government does not financially support the research activities. At this time, UIUC is not able to comply with these provisions and hence cannot support research employing non-approved embryonic stem cell lines.

The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research has developed a process, described in this website, to help investigators gather appropriate information to meet the administrative requirements for human embryonic stem cell research. Prior to beginning any work with human embryonic stem cell lines, please contact:

Jennifer Eardley, Ph.D.
Associate Vice Chancellor for Research
217-333-6771
jeardley@uiuc.edu