What is the VCSCB?

The Vanderbilt Center for Stem Cell Biology (VCSCB) is a newly established center at Vanderbilt University that will serve as a platform for accelerating discoveries in stem cell biology.

The Center is focused on generating new knowledge for directing the differentiation of embryonic stem cells towards specific fates, such as pancreatic islets, dopaminergic neurons, and cardiovascular myocytes.

The VCSCB oversees the existing Transgenic Mouse/Embryonic Stem Cell Shared Resource and has plans to develop a new shared resource for the growth and manipulation of human embryonic stem cells.

The VCSCB will host new educational programs focused on stem cells and their biology, as well as other related technologies, with the goal of speeding up the development of new therapies for a variety of human diseases.

Our Vision

The VCSCB is establishing alliances with other programs and centers at Vanderbilt, such as those already established with the Program in Developmental Biology and the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology. Our vision is to leverage our efforts from existing institutional strengths, thereby facilitating more rapid scientific progress.

Vanderbilt's Position on Stem Cells

Vanderbilt University is eager to realize, as rapidly as possible, the full potential of embryonic stem cell research to produce new treatments and cures for human afflictions. Accordingly, we support increased federal funding of research on all types of stem cells, including those found in fetal and adult human tissues, and stem cells derived as the result of nuclear transfer.

We believe that discarded embryos generated through the process of in vitro fertilization (IVF) should be available for research and therapeutic use. However, incentives that could encourage the creation of embryos by prospective parents or gamete donors for other than the life-affirming purpose of procreation should be prohibited.

We do not believe that embryos derived from somatic nuclear cell transfer have the same moral status as those created by normal sexual reproduction. Thus, we support research that makes use this technology where the intent is to use the cell lines solely for medical purposes (therapeutic cloning), but not where the intent is to create a human being (reproductive cloning).