CWRU medical school dean, CSU bioethics professor named to NIH stem cell group

Dr. Pamela Davis

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The dean of Case Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine and a law professor from Cleveland State University will be part of a National Institutes of Health group to determine how the NIH supports embryonic stem cell lines.

Medical school Dean Dr. Pamela B. Davis and CSU bioethics law professor Dena S. Davis are members of a nine-member Working Group for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Eligibility Review.

Pamela Davis has served as dean for the last three years. Her primary research focus is cystic fibrosis, and she led the school’s cystic fibrosis research center and is a founding scientist of Copernicus Therapeutics, which focused on gene therapy for cystic fibrosis.

Along with her work at CSU, Dena Davis was a visiting scholar at the National Human Genome Research Institute and the author of Genetic Dilemmas: Reproductive Technology, Parental Choices, and Children’s Futures. She also works with Case’s Department of Biomedical Ethics and directs the Population Issues Group in Case’s Center for Genetic Research Ethics and Law.

The NIH announced this week it is accepting requests for human embryonic stem cell lines for NIH-funded research, and the working group’s recommendations will be considered by NIH Director Dr. Francis S. Collins.