New Mexico

ON JULY 18, 2006, the U.S. Senate convened to vote on a proposed bill (H.R. 810) that would amend the Public Health Service Act and provide federal funding for research on human embryonic stem cells. This bill was passed by the Senate but was later vetoed by President George W. Bush. In the vote, the two New Mexico Senators voted against each other: Democrat Jeff Bingaman was in favor of the bill and Republican Pete Domenici opposed it.

Also in 2006, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson proposed a budget of $10 million of state funds to be dedicated to supporting stem cell research. The money would build a new research center at the Health Sciences Center of the University of New Mexico campus at Albuquerque (with an allocated $4 million), as well as hire research faculty (using another $4 million) and train graduate students for future careers in stem cell research (with the remaining $2 million). The purpose of using state funds to build the research center as well as to support faculty and students is to circumvent the federal law prohibiting stem cell research with federal funds. States, however, are free to choose their own stances on stem cell research. Governor Richardson was approached by New Mexico's Roman Catholic Bishops, who urged him to reconsider his proposal to use embryonic stem cells.

In January 2008, the U.S. Senate again passed a bill in favor of allowing federal funds to support stem cell research while forbidding human cloning. This bill, 2008 Senate Bill 23, or the Biomédical Research Act, was sponsored by New Mexico Senator John C. Ryan and was supported by Governor Bill Richardson.

At present, within the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center (UNM HSC), there is a graduate training program in development and stem cell biology. Stem cell—related research focuses on embryonic stem cells in terms of their cell cycle and its regulation and how these regulatory schemes are related to those schemes of cancer cells, as well as neural stem cells and the harnessing of such cells to treat disorders such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and numerous other degenerative disorders. In addition, neural stem cells could be used to treat spinal cord injury patients, and further understanding of these stem cells could shed light on the molecular biology of brain tumors.

Another focus of the research at UNM HSC is on adult human renal stem cells. These cells can be harvested from the adult kidney and studied. Such investigations might lead to customized treatment of chronic kidney failure or other renal diseases. Scientists at UNM HSC also study human blood and bone marrow stem cells.

Another university in New Mexico, the New Mexico State University (NMSU), also recognizes the importance of stem cell research. Although litde research that is directly related to stem cells is carried out at NMSU, scientists there are encouraged to stay abreast of the biological science regarding stem cells. In fact, the main Web page of the office of the vice president for research highlights stem cell research breakthroughs in its Global Research News Section. Smaller universities such as the Eastern University of New Mexico and the Western [Page 385]University of New Mexico do not have the facilities to conduct stem cell research, yet they keep their students and faculty informed through classes and seminars that address stem cell biology.

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