BioWorld International Correspondent

The promoters of the newly formed Dansk Center for Stamcelleforskning (Danish Center for Stem Cell Research) are looking to further accelerate stem cell research in Denmark by establishing a graduate school that would provide interdisciplinary training for the next generation of scientists working in the field.

The center, which has a virtual structure, was formally established in April with DKK23.6 million (US$3.1 million) in funding from the Danish Research Council to cover five years. It comprises seven basic research groups from academia, as well as researchers from two companies, Ballerup-based NsGene A/S, a cell therapy spin-out from Neurosearch A/S, also of Ballerup; and Gentofte-based Hagedorn Research Institute, part of Novo Nordisk A/S, of Bagsvaerd. The academic institutes involved include the University of Southern Denmark at Odense, Odense University Hospital, Copenhagen University and Aalborg University.

Jens Zimmer, professor of anatomy and neurobiology at the University of Southern Denmark in Odense, is one of the promoters of the project. The planned graduate school, he told BioWorld International, also will include Aarhus University and the Royal Veterinarian and Agricultural University at Copenhagen. It would have capacity for 30 Ph.D. students. A final application is being drafted, for submission next month. The response should follow shortly afterward.

"By December we should know," Zimmer said. "We hope to start by the beginning of next year."

The stem cell research center, meanwhile, brings together research groups working on tissue-residing stem cells found in brain, endocrine pancreas, intestine, liver, muscle and bone-forming tissue; on stem cells obtained from human umbilical cord blood; and on stem cell markers and stem cell differentiation. Its plans do not yet extend to work on human embryonic stem cells.

"Whether we will work on human embryonic stem cells depends on what becomes legally possible," Zimmer said. "You cannot create Danish embryonic stem cells under the current legislation." At present, the only work permitted on human embryos is research into improving in vitro fertilization techniques.

The legislation does not prohibit the importation of embryonic stem cells from other countries, and a number of groups have considered taking this route, Zimmer said. However, those involved have decided to wait, pending the outcome of a government-sponsored evaluation of gene technologies and their clinical applications.

Ebba Nexo, of Aarhus University Hospital, chairs the committee that is overseeing the study. Its report is due in October.