TORONTO - U.S. President Barack Obama's move Monday to loosen strictures on American stem cell research provoked a surge of excitement, a dash of envy and some competitive concern from Canada's world-class stem cell scientists.
Leaders in the stem cell research community found themselves battling conflicting emotions - joy that American colleagues were shaking off the yoke of religious ideology and apprehension that with new political support and infusions of stimulus cash, American research institutions may soon siphon off some of Canada's best talent.
"Basically we both now, the United States and Canada, at this moment both have the same - very similar - policies and permissions. The difference is the U.S. has the means. And I think that that speaks volumes," said Mick Bhatia, scientific director of the Stem Cell Biology Research Institute at McMaster University in Hamilton.
The overriding reaction was one of excitement, Bhatia and others insisted, that U.S. colleagues were being freed to play a leading role in the search to find ways to harness the regenerative promise of stem cells.
Scientists believe stem cells will eventually provide cures for myriad diseases and injuries, from repairing spinal cord injuries to growing new organs to reversing the decline caused by neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's.
"Science is not defined by countries. And having the U.S. scientists not be players to the degree that they normally would be has been problematic," Michael Rudnicki, scientific director of the Canadian Stem Cell Network, said in an interview from Prague.
"They've struggled under the Bush administration, no question. And I'm quite happy for U.S. science - and international science for that matter."
Obama signed the executive order reversing the previous administration's ban on federal funding for stem cell research except work done on a limited number of stem cell lines created before the ban came into effect.
At the same time, the new president also endorsed a memorandum designed to ensure scientific policy is made on the basis of science, not politics or religious ideology. When Obama announced his administration would restore "scientific integrity to government decision making," scientists at the ceremony cheered.
Tim Caulfield, a professor of public health sciences and law at the University of Alberta, admitted he was thrilled by Obama's actions.
But Caulfield, who leads a team that explores the ethical, legal and social issues imbued in this scientific field for the Stem Cell Network, said he's worried the changing climate in the U.S. may lure away Canadian researchers, who are among the world leaders in this field.
"What does it mean for Canada? On the one hand, I think that more research is always good and more research funds is always good. And Canadian researchers have a lot of collaborators in the United States," Caulfield said.
"But at the same time, we have a funny situation occurring where in Canada we haven't taken the same economic strategy with respect to research. We seem to be cutting back drastically in research dollars in Canada, at least for basic research."
It's a fear Bhatia and Rudnicki share as well.
"I think that's inevitable," Bhatia said. "The States will be looking to Canada to see if there are people who want to join in their activities now, moving forward with this announcement."
The U.S. economic stimulus package includes substantial new funding for research - something that's not lost on Canadian scientists eyeing the situation south of the border.
"Right now in Canada, under the current Conservative government, support for basic scientists really is very ambiguous and unclear," Rudnicki said. "And every signal, every budget cut - people are aware of this. And it makes it harder to hire. Harder to recruit, harder to retain."
"Cutting edge science is incredibly competitive," he continued. "And when new investigators are setting up shop or looking to move for different reasons, they'll look to the place where they can get their work done, which has the best critical mass of investigators."
"It's like building a hockey team - if suddenly our salary cap is half what it is elsewhere, it can be hard to build that team."
