While stem cell research offers high hope for untreatable and life-threatening disease, the use of these cells raises ethical and practical concerns that vary across Europe. Furthermore, as the field is moving steadily towards its anticipated translational goals, unscrupulous operators are already offering patients bogus treatments, often at high financial cost. As a result, this research is the subject of great debate among scientists, clinicians, politicians, religious groups, business interests and the public in general. Both high-quality information and engagement with the fields of stem cell research and regenerative medicine are required to facilitate understanding and evidence-based decision-making among European stakeholders.
Follwoing a successful FP7 funded CSA project, EuroStemCell received further funding under EU Horizon 2020 funding. Here EuroStemCell brings together into a single grouping eight current EU-funded stem cell integrated projects, two European National Stem Cell Networks, the European Clinical Research Infrastructure Network, and twenty three other internationally recognized European stem cell research centres.
The objective of EuroStemCell under H2020 funding is to ensure continuation and further development of this existing information portal. We have reconfigured the EuroStemCell consortium, by enlarging it to comprise an extensive grouping of leading basic and translational stem cell researchers, along with ethicists, social scientists, and expert science communications professionals, from across Europe.
