in the early stages of in vitro fertilization (IVF) research that led to the birth of the first in vitro fertilization babies born in Australia. Perry Bartlett identified renewable brain cells, and Nick Gough led his team to identify the leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) that results in a pluripotent state in the stem cells of mice.
Two of the most significant contributions to stem cell research were the findings of Alan Metcalf and his colleagues at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne involving the regulation of the immune system by growth factors and signaling pathways and the identification of the relationships between hematopoietic stem cells and their offspring. By 1998, researchers, including Alan Trounson and Martin Pera, were advocating the use of embryonic stem cells for developing treatments for disease and severe injuries. A consortium of Australian and Singaporean researchers created some of the first hES cell lines and established Embryonic Stem Cell International.
In the early 21st century, following the mapping of the human genome, Australia joined other industrialized nations in accelerating the pace of stem cell research. Australia became one of the first countries in the world to develop a strategy for bringing local and regional governments and private industries into the emerging field. With the new focus on stem cell research, ethical debates heightened. In 2002, Parliament passed the Research Involving Human Embryos Act and the Prohibition of Human Cloning Act. Like the British system on which Australia is based, members of Parliament (MPs) are expected to vote strictly along party lines. However, MPs were allowed to vote according to conscience on the two stem cell laws. Together, the acts prohibited any form of human cloning and placed strict regulations on how excess human embryos were to be handled. Scientists were still allowed to conduct research on human embryos that had been created on or before April 15, 2002. With a three-year moratorium on cloning in place, Parliament stipulated that the laws would be revisited in three years to address new advances in stem cell research. Top researchers began pressuring the government to create a state-sponsored facility to conduct stem cell research.
Founded in 2003, The Australian Stem Cell Centre focuses on regenerative medicine through the use of stem cells. In 2008, the center began working with induced pluripotent (iPS) cells—artificially created embryonic stem cells. (Australian Stem Cell Center)
Significant changes took place in the Australian stem cell research community when the issue of embryonic stem cell research was reviewed in 2005, and Parliament passed the Reregulation of Human Embryos Research Act the following year. Somatic cell nuclear transfer, which had been banned in 2002, became legal but was still subject to intense scrutiny. With the moratorium lifted, the Australian Health Ethics Committee was established under the auspices of the National Health and Medical Council to handle applications for licenses to engage in therapeutic cloning. Inspectors were also charged with monitoring compliance with new guidelines issued by the National Health and Medical Council. The first license was issued in 2005, and only nine more were issued over the next four years. Australia continues to restrict the production of eggs and sperm solely for purposes of research. States and territories also regulate stem cell research activity.
In 2013, Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) announced that it was placing a five-year ban on all xenotransplantation trials in human beings, making it illegal to use animal stem cells in human therapies. A ban on using animal organs in humans had been issued in 2004. The chief reason for the bans was the fear that hybrid transplants could create new viruses. The board insisted that little evidence existed to support the success of xenotransplantation but reiterated its support for human stem cell research and therapies.
Stem Cell Australia
Stem Cell Australia was established as a multidisciplinary seven-year effort by the Australian General Research Initiative. It is a stem cell research partnership among the University of Melbourne, Monash University, the University of Queensland, the University of New South Wales, the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for Medical Research, the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO). The University of Melbourne hosts the group, and Professor Martin Pera was invited to return to his homeland from the University of Southern California, where he headed the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, to serve as head of the new organization.
Pera’s expertise is in the fields of biological engineering, nanotechnology, stem cell biology, advanced molecular analysis, and clinical research. His research focuses on examining the mechanisms that control the regulation and differentiation of stem cells, and he is considered a pioneer in the development of human embryonic stem cells and isolating and characterizing pluripotent stem cells from germ cell tumors of testis.
Stem Cell Australia is involved in four key research areas: pluripotency and reprogramming, cardiac regeneration and repair, neural regeneration and repair, and hematopoiesis. Researchers focus on four platform technologies that include embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells, tissue repair, and immune modulation. Support services include Stemformatics, which deals with the merging of stem cell research and bioinformation to furnish gene information and visualization to researchers. Stem Core Labs provides research support on pluripotent stem cell lines. Flow cytometry is offered through Melbourne’s Brain Centre. Each of the eight institutions involved in Stem Cell Australia appoints a member to the Governance Committee, which provides institutional oversight. Scientific oversight is provided by an international team of stem cell experts who serve on the Scientific Advisory Committee, which is chaired by Professor Patrick Tam of Children’s Medical Research Institute in Sydney.
Because Stem Cell Australia was funded for only seven years, government funding ceased in 2011. At that time, the National Stem Cell Foundation of Australia took on the responsibility of raising funds to continue stem cell research. The foundation is also engaged in educating the Australian public about stem cell research. Each year, the foundation awards Metcalf Prizes to two stem cell researchers who have completed their doctorates or medical degrees in the past five to 10 years. The awards include a $50,000 monetary acknowledgment of excellence in research.
Stem Cell Researchers
The researchers who are involved in Stem Cell Australia come from a variety of backgrounds. Based at leading research institutions in Australia, they are experts in bioengineering, nanotechnology, stem cell biology, advanced molecular analysis, and clinical research. At the University of Queensland, Perry Bartlett specializes in neural cells in the adult brain. His 2001 article describing the discovery and isolation of neural cells in the mouse forebrain has been identified as one of the classics in stem cell research by the journal Nature. Robert Capon of the Institute for Molecular BioScience maintains extensive diversity and microbial libraries.
Justin Cooper-White develops advanced technological platforms for research programs. Peter Gray is an expert on the biological processes of mammalian cultures. Melissa Little is a pioneer in renal stem cell biology and renal regeneration. Michael Monteiro focuses on the nanostructural materials field. Lars Nelson has been doing pioneering work in cell engineering since 1998. Pankaj Sah focuses on the mammalian central nervous system. Christine Wells is a specialist on inflammatory diseases, and Ernst Wolvetany brings a cross-disciplinary expertise to his research on iPS development.
At the University of Melbourne, Milella Dottori leads the Stem Cell Laboratory at the Centre for Neuroscience. She works with director Martin Pera on human embryonic stem cells and has a background in neural specification and patterning of the nervous system. David Gardner is known around the world for work in embryonic and reproductive medicine. Doug Hilton is a respected name in molecular and cellular hematology. Working with Perry Bartlett, Trevor Kilpatrick was involved in the paradigm shift taking place in neural stem cell research. Alice Pébay heads up the Centre for Eye Research. Joy Rathjen is doing pioneering work on pluripotency. Lachlan Thompson focuses his research on brain repair, and Ann Turnley works on post-injury regeneration of the nervous system.
At Monash University, James Bourne is the leader of a group that is investigating