Nominations now open for the 2015 Theo Murphy High Flyers Think Tank, 22-24 July 2015, Sydney
The Australian Academy of Science is inviting nominations for early- to mid-career researchers (PhD students and postdoctoral fellows up to 15 years post-PhD, excluding career interruptions) to participate in the 2015 Theo Murphy High Flyers Think Tank on the topic of stem cell science. Approximately 60 early- and mid-career researchers (EMCRs) from a diverse range of science and social science disciplines will meet to take stock of scientific developments in the field and consider the political, regulatory and ethical issues in their broadest context.
For the selected nominees, participation costs will be met by the Theo Murphy (Australia) Fund. The selection process will focus on nominees’ capacity to contribute constructively to the debate and understand the major issues and knowledge gaps in the topic areas.
While stem cell therapy has been part of medical practice for decades in the form of bone marrow transplantation and other treatments, recent developments in human embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cell and adult stem cell biology, reprogramming, genome editing and stem cell bioengineering have led to a revolution in biology and medicine that has yet to peak.
These scientific advances are being played out against a background controversy where many fear that science quality, the rationale for clinical trials, and patient safety are being compromised by the rapid pace of the field and also the rapid proliferation of unproven and often unethical therapies that foster an industry of stem cell tourism.
The Think Tank participants will aim to identify creative solutions to these issues and consider policy options that could address them across four key areas:
- Platform science (across disease modelling, genomics, IPS, etc)
- Clinical translation (Australian perspectives, including infrastructure considerations)
- Public perspectives and expectations; Political and regulatory landscape
- Current and future directions for stem cell science.
Professor Richard Harvey FAA and Professor Edna Hardeman are the co-chairs of this year’s Theo Murphy Think Tank. Andrew McMahon, Amander Clark and Jose Polo are among the invited speakers who will speak about their work and set the scene for more detailed discussions on the topics above.
For the participants, the Think Tank will be an outstanding opportunity to develop expertise in operating in a multi-disciplinary context and in understanding the contribution of science to evidence-based policy formulation. Further, it will be a unique networking opportunity amongst the nation’s next generation of science leaders and hence will strongly support their career development. Following the event the findings of the Think Tank will be published in a recommendations report made available to government, stakeholders, interested parties and the public. Reports from previous Think Tanks have been timely, well received and instrumental in influencing policy development.
Nominees should complete the nomination form as soon as possible and before COB Friday 22 May to enable the selection process to occur and for preparatory materials to be sent to participants. Applicants will be notified of the selection outcomes in June. If you require any further information please contact Sandra Gardam on 02 6201 9426 or via email to science.policy@science.org.au.
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