By Matthew Winston

World-renowned cloning researcher Steve Stice has been named to the position of Eminent Scholar in Animal Reproductive Physiology at the university. He will be the first to hold the $1.5 million endowed chair made possible by the Georgia Research Alliance, founded in 1990 to help create high tech jobs in Georgia. The state has invested more than $200 million in high tech and biotechnology research.
Stice made headlines in January when Advanced Cell Technology Inc., a biotechnology firm in Massachusetts which he co-founded and where he served as chief scientific officer, announced that it had successfully produced two clones (named Charlie and George) of a genetically engineered calf. Now Stice is bringing his talents to Athens, where he says his goal is to produce more animals within the next few years.
Cloning research is intended, ultimately, to save lives. The term “pharming” is used in biotechnology to refer to the development of pharmaceutical products using traditional farm animals like sheep and cattle. Stice’s research has focused on producing transgenic animals--animals with genetically altered or manipulated cells--to produce pharmaceutical proteins or for cell and organ transplant therapy.
For example, researchers can manipulate bovine cells so that the animal’s milk contains a natural protein needed to help treat debilitating diseases. If several calves can be produced, that same life-saving protein can be produced in mass quantities, less expensively and more efficiently than through traditional pharmaceutical methods.
Working with a consortium of experts in Georgia, Stice will continue his research at the university’s new $22 million animal-science complex. The facility will offer labs, animal-birthing pens and office facilities for researchers and biotechnology start-up companies.
“There were many things that made the University of Georgia attractive to me,” says Stice, “not least the resources available here, both in facilities and in expertise. Clifton Baile [GRA Eminent Scholar in Agricultural Biotechnology] and Larry Benyshek [animal and dairy science department head] have been incredibly supportive and have shown a commitment to bring in the caliber of faculty that can really help us do some good work here.
“We hope that we can get three people on board shortly and then have six to 10 persons hired by the end of the year,” he adds. “The university is providing us with the means to do some of the things we want to do. Now we just have to do them. Time is of the essence.”
The presence of the Georgia Research Alliance was an added incentive. GRA support will provide resources such as lab space and equipment, office equipment, software and salaries for additional lab technicians and researchers. Stice says that GRA is a great vehicle for getting introduced and connected to other scientists in education and industry in Georgia.
He also says that he was attracted by the opportunity to split his responsibilities between academic research and business. He will serve as chief scientific officer of OptiGen, Inc., a company that translates technology research into commercial uses.
“I will basically be responsible for directing the laboratories and developing the technology we use,” he the things we want to do. Now we just have to do them. Time is of the essence.”
The presence of the Georgia Research Alliance was an added incentive. GRA support will provide resources--lab space and equipment, office equipment, software and salaries for additional lab technicians and researchers. Stice says that GRA is a great vehicle for getting introduced and connected to other scientists in education and industry in Georgia.
He also says that he was attracted by the opportunity to split his responsibilities between academic research and business. He will serve as chief scientific officer of OptiGen, Inc., a company that translates technology research into commercial uses.
“I will basically be responsible for directing the laboratories and developing the technology we use,” he says. “The reality of this type of research is that it does nobody any good if we cannot find ways to use it. The time I spend with the company will give us the opportunity to market what we do.”
The ethics of cloning research has been a subject of concern. Shortly after the Scotland-based Rosalin Institute produced Dolly, the cloned sheep, President Clinton’s Bioethics Commission urged scientists to refrain from research efforts to clone humans. Stice says that he agrees fully with the commission’s position.
“I see absolutely no good reason to clone humans,” Stice says. “People usually have good intentions when they talk about cloning humans, but I think with in-vitro fertilization and other medical remedies there are enough avenues for couples experiencing difficulty having children.”
Stice does not expect his work to lead him to become involved in determining policy regarding cloning ethics and procedures. He believes that existing organizations like the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration can apply existing laws and keep tabs on the industry.
“There is no need for new laws regarding cloning,” he says. “I think the industry can be self-regulated. However, I do think that we, as scientists, need to be cognizant of the policy issues.
There is a mindset out there in the research community that ‘pure scientists should stick to science and leave policy and ethics to the ethicists and policy makers.’ I disagree with that. We, as scientists, have a responsibility to educate people as to what policy can and cannot do.”
Stice, who calls himself a farm boy at heart, earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural sciences from the University of Illinois in 1983, a master’s degree in animal science from Iowa State University in 1985 and a Ph.D. in animal science from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst four years later.
He conducted cloning and embryonic stem-cell research at the American Breeders Service from 1989 to 1994 before joining the research faculty at the University of Massachusetts and getting involved with the firm Advanced Cell Technology. Along the way, he has acquired several patents for his work.
He’s pleased with the opportunity to come to UGA.
“I am particularly looking forward to the interaction with the students,” he says. “I hope to give lectures to undergraduate and graduate classes, and I will take on graduate and post-doctoral students and get them involved with some research opportunities. I think this is going to be a good fit.”