Canadian Stem Cell Foundation

Gairdner Week in Toronto

Today marks the start of Gairdner Week, a celebration of the Gairdner Foundation's 50th anniversary. Events run from October 28-30 in Toronto, and will count over 60 science superstars, including 20 Nobel laureates, in attendance. iPS cell-discoverer Shinya Yamanaka and Nobel-laureate Oliver Smithies are included in this group, as are Canadian Stem Cell Foundation "Rock Stars" Andras Nagy, Janet Rossant, Sam Weiss.

Check out this great write up about Gairdner Week in the Toronto Star: Superstars of science converge on Toronto.

New Organizational Signatories

It's been a busy month for the Charter. The community is growing - we're up to 1,650 signatures, and we're proud to welcome several new organizational signatories:

Australian Stem Cell Centre

Society for Developmental Biology

Canadian Blood Services

Cancer Stem Cell Consortium

We'd also like to thank our founding organizational signatories:

Stem Cell Network

Genetics Policy Institute

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

Explore the Charter Universe

It's been two weeks since launch, and over 1200 people have signed the Stem Cell Charter. People are embracing the idea of a voluntary code of ethics for stem cell research, and becoming part of a growing community of supporters.

So, now that you've signed, what else can you do? Exploring the website is a good start:

• watch mini videos featuring different scientists speaking about their work
• get an introduction to stem cells and the potential within the science
• read about how stem cell therapies apply to different diseases like Parkinson's, MS, cancer and diabetes
• and, of course, share the Charter with friends, family and colleagues

Thank you to everyone who has signed!