Thirty students with junior and senior standing will have the chance to participate in Syracuse University’s first class on stem cells this spring.

The class will focus on the science and ethics of stem cell research, as well as how religion and the media affect stem cell studies. Professors from various disciplines have been ‘feverishly planning’ the course since May, said John Russell, professor and chair of the biology department.

‘Society as a whole has to work out how to address this now,’ Russell said. ‘This question that was at one time science fiction is now possible.’

In November 2009, the New York State Stem Cell Science board awarded SU $324,000 for the project under a grant for the development and implementation of undergraduate curricula on stem cell science and ethical, legal and societal issues related to it. SU was one of five New York schools to receive the funding, which totaled $1,388,249.

There is an ethical debate surrounding the use and destruction of human cells for research and treatment. Both embryonic stem cells, derived from an early stage in human development, and adult stem cells, found in certain tissues in fully developed babies and adults, are used, raising questions on when human life begins and when a being has rights.

The SU class, BIO300/PHI 300/REL300: ‘Stem Cells and Society,’ offered this spring may expand to the fall depending on how many students sign up and how they respond to the topic, Russell said. The goal of the class, Russell said, is for people to make moral and ethical decisions about stem cell research through education.

Russell said he hopes to attract more than just students interested in science. The course will be taught through case studies, lectures and various readings, as no textbook is available that is tailored to the course. Russell will teach the course, and several faculty members will be available throughout the semester for smaller group discussions.

The course is distinct not only for its controversial topic, Russell said, but also because he believes it to be the first course in which so many SU faculty have collaborated. Russell said there has been a core group of faculty with teaching backgrounds that include science, religion, the media and ethics, among others, planning how the course will be taught.

A representative from the State University of New York Upstate Medical University and from SU’s Burton Blatt Institute is also part of the collaboration.

The class is being promoted through fliers, and Russell said he has asked advisers to mention it to students. The class is looking to get a mixture of students from various schools, and assuming more than 30 students are interested, students will enroll on a MySlice waitlist and hear back as soon as possible about whether or not they will be able to take the course.

‘It’s not just a stem cell science course — stem cell research has raised ethical questions,’ said philosophy professor Ben Bradley, one of the core faculty members.

The main controversy behind stem cell research involves the question of destroying the embryo, which sometimes happens during embryonic stem cell research. Bradley said this raised the ethical question of whether an embryo deserves rights and the morality of cloning. He said he hoped students would make informed decisions about the controversial topic.

The class is of interest for Tristan Nowak, a senior pre-med student majoring in history and biology. Nowak, who is interested in oncology, said the topic of stem cells usually comes up in general biology classes but that there is no specific class focusing on the subject.

‘There’s a lot more that can be done with stem cell research,’ Nowak said. ‘It’s too bad that there’s so much impeding.’

Having a class that allows students and professors from different disciplines to discuss the topic should help the study, Nowak said.

‘It’s not just science,’ he said.

Stem cell research is a topic close to home for sophomore biochemistry major Jaclyn McLaughlin. McLaughlin recently found out doctors will use stem cells to help a close friend of hers. Her friend, 20, tore her anterior cruciate ligament five years ago and, after a surgery mistake, has been on crutches and in a leg cast, McLaughlin said.

As a sophomore, she is currently not able to enroll in the course, but she said she would consider taking the class in the fall if it returns. She said she supported researching stem cells.

‘It’s very beneficial,’ she said. ‘It can lead to a lot of medical discoveries, a lot of pathways for help.’

dkmcbrid@syr.edu

Published on November 10, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Dara: dkmcbrid@syr.edu | @daramcbride