Photo Credit: Life & Brain GmbH, Germany
About ICSCN
The past decade has seen a growing acknowledgement that catalyzing the movement of stem cell research into the clinic must be an international pursuit. In late 2004, the Stem Cell Network invited representatives from 14 national research networks to a face-to-face meeting in Montreal. Most of these Networks are funded by government with mandates to promote collaboration and training, conduct outreach, and facilitate economic development in the stem cell space.
Collectively, the organizations shared information about their mandates and the status of stem cell research in their respective countries, and concluded that (i) they had a responsibility to do all that they could to foster international research collaborations between networks and investigators, and (ii) there was a significant opportunity to share best practice and collaborate in other areas to achieve individual missions more rapidly and effectively. The outcome was the Montreal White Paper, endorsed at a second meeting of these groups in June 2005, which stated their goal to be:
“the creation of a coordinating group, to be known as the International Consortium of Stem Cell Networks (ICSCN) that will be committed to international cooperation and collaboration, extending the concept of national research networks to the international level”.
These sentiments have now been refined into the following mission:
The ICSCN will accelerate stem cell research globally by
- providing a forum for exchange of best practice and the development of international equivalents of successful national initiatives;
- encouraging and facilitating the exchange of researchers and trainees between network members;
- organizing and promoting international workshops and symposia, especially on topics where the expertise within any one jurisdiction may be limited; and
- facilitating communications to help in the coordination of research and translation between different countries.
Initially funded by a $200,000 grant from the Victoria State Government in Australia, the ICSCN is now managed by a Secretariat comprising representatives from the stem cell networks of Australia, Canada, North Rhine Westphalia (Germany), and Scotland. The ICSCN currently has 18 members, and is chaired by Dr. Michael Rudnicki, Scientific Director of Canada’s Stem Cell Network. The Consortium meets annually in conjunction with each plenary meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research.
The work of the ICSCN complements the two other major international stem cell organisations:
- The International Stem Cell Forum is comprised of the 21 major funders of stem cell research around the world (principally federal government agencies), and has a focus on co-ordinating human embryonic stem cell funding and policy around the world, with the objective of maximizing the research results from the use of such cells, while minimizing the number of lines that need to be produced. The ICSCN participates as an observer at meetings of the International Stem Cell Forum.
- The International Society of Stem Cell Research is a scientific society that includes most of the worlds leading stem cell scientists. The ISSCR organizes the most significant international stem cell meeting each year, and conducts significant outreach and advocacy activities.