This Week's Interview – Dr. Kenneth Ault
By Zack Anchors
Staff writer
According to the New England Journal of Medicine, the United States, long considered the world’s leader in so many realms of scientific progress, is falling behind other countries in the field of stem-cell research. Likewise, researchers in the United States, discouraged by controversy and federal policies that hamper stem-cell research, are believed to be shying away from the field. But in Scarborough, at the Maine Medical Center Research Institute (MMCRI), around 30 scientists are steadily expanding the scientific knowledge surrounding the potential of stem-cells. Out of the 14 labs at the institute, five are engaged in stem-cell research, said Dr. Kenneth Ault, MMCRI’s director.
Stem-cells, which have the unique ability to differentiate themselves into a wide range of specialized cells, are believed by scientists to hold the key to important medical advances, such as cures for illnesses like Parkinson’s disease or the ability to grow organs that can be transplanted. Each of the five principal investigators involved in stem-cell research at MMCRI are pursuing the potential of stem-cells in a different direction, said Ault.
“We have two people that are interested in stem-cells that give rise to blood and blood vessels,” he said. “We have one person who is doing very interesting work on kidneys, with the hope of someday being able to grow new kidneys. We have a new fellow who is doing work with embryonic stem-cells. And we have a new fellow who is interested in a lot of things – but one thing he’s interested in is neural stem-cells and cells that give rise to nerve cells.”
Not all stem-cells are the same. While embryonic stem-cells are thought to have the potential to transform into any type of cell in the body, stem-cells from adults have more limited abilities.
“Embryonic stem cells are kind of a blank slate,” said Ault. “We think they can become anything. Adult stem-cells are more restricted. We get most of the stem-cells we work with from adults. The embryonic stem-cells we get through the (National Institute for Health).”
Because of MMCRI’s relation to Maine Medical Center, the institute has a reliable source of adult stem-cells.
“We do bone marrow transplants every week at the hospital,” said Ault. “For years we’ve known that there were stem cells in the bone marrow. We’ve learned now that there are stem cells throughout the body.”
Due to its dependence on discarded embryos, embryonic stem-cell research has become mired in national controversy and the subject of political debate. Although MMCRI has access to embryonic stem-cells for its one lab that uses them, they are not as easy as adult stem-cells to come by. In 2001, President Bush signed into law legislation that bans federal funding for any research that uses embryonic stem-cell lines developed after August 9, 2001. That leaves 21 stem-cell lines left, though Ault says only 12 actually turned out to be viable.
“For any one line, there’s an unlimited supply,” said Ault. “But there’s a limited number of lines…the way you get embryonic stem-cells is you take them from an embryo. It turns out if you use 12 different embryos, you’re going to get 12 slightly different cell lines. And of the twelve we have, some can be made into some things better than others.”
What this means is that stem-cell research in the United States that is funded federally is limited to what can be done with twelve stem-cell lines.
“It doesn’t directly affect what we are doing at the moment,” said Ault of the federal policy. “I think we all feel that there is a lot more potential out there though. There are a lot of things we wouldn’t consider doing because we don’t want to put ourselves in a position of violating federal rules. But there are lots and lots of questions to be answered, so its not like we don’t have plenty to keep ourselves busy.”
Although current research at MMCRI is not currently being impeded by federal policy, Ault is concerned about the effect on the field in general.
“We all feel that the growth of this field in the United States is being held back,” he said. “Even if it’s not being held back exactly by the rules, people don’t want to go into a field where they’re at risk of being called a criminal. People are being held back psychologically, if not physically.”
Ault said some biomedical research institutions are able to avoid the federally-imposed restrictions by creating an entirely separate lab which does not rely on federal funding. They are then allowed to create as many stem-cell lines as they want. Because MMCRI is dependent on funding from NIH, Ault says there is no way MMCRI could follow that route.
“We couldn’t do that here – our electric bills are paid largely by NIH,” said Ault.
Besides Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, MMCRI is the only organization engaged in stem-cell research in Maine.
“A lot of our research is very similar,” said Ault. “Since we’re smaller, we’re much more specialized. Jackson Labs does a lot of different things…because we’re part of a hospital we’re positioned well to make our research very clinically relevant. They’re focused more on the mouse…we’re focused more on the human.”
It was only two years ago that MMCRI had only one scientist working on stem-cell research. Then a $12 million grant came through that allowed MMCRI to develop the facilities and draw in the researchers needed for a stronger program.
“We had no problem recruiting great scientists,” said Ault. “Once you have the facilities and the funding to bring them here – they love living in Maine, Boston is only an hour a half away, and we’ve got close contact with the scientific community…I don’t see any reason why Maine can’t have a thriving biomedical research industry. And once you have the critical mass of biomedical research going on, then you have the biotech start to spin off, and we’re just beginning to see that.”
Although he serves in an administrative role now, Ault had a long career as a hematologist. Asked how scientists come up with an idea for a particular line of research, he responded with an answer that bespoke his research experience.
“I always say a scientist is like an artist,” he said. “Why does an artist paint a picture? I don’t know – I’m not an artist. But people say it’s just something inside of you. You paint it because that’s what you need to do. And then you have to go sell it to somebody to get enough money to paint the next picture, and that’s really what scientists do. You think of an experiment you can do or a question you can answer and you just go do it…there’s a lot of pressure on scientists to be practical right from the beginning but I think that’s not really the way it works. It starts out as an intellectual exercise. If you force a scientist to come up with an application before they come up with the science, I think you’re restricting them.”
As for the future of MMCRI, Ault said he is hoping the institute will nearly double in size in the near future. Although any growth is contingent on funding, there are plans for a 25,000-square foot expansion, further collaborations with research institutions throughout Maine and New England and a possible new program for high school students.
Staff writer
According to the New England Journal of Medicine, the United States, long considered the world’s leader in so many realms of scientific progress, is falling behind other countries in the field of stem-cell research. Likewise, researchers in the United States, discouraged by controversy and federal policies that hamper stem-cell research, are believed to be shying away from the field. But in Scarborough, at the Maine Medical Center Research Institute (MMCRI), around 30 scientists are steadily expanding the scientific knowledge surrounding the potential of stem-cells. Out of the 14 labs at the institute, five are engaged in stem-cell research, said Dr. Kenneth Ault, MMCRI’s director.
Stem-cells, which have the unique ability to differentiate themselves into a wide range of specialized cells, are believed by scientists to hold the key to important medical advances, such as cures for illnesses like Parkinson’s disease or the ability to grow organs that can be transplanted. Each of the five principal investigators involved in stem-cell research at MMCRI are pursuing the potential of stem-cells in a different direction, said Ault.
“We have two people that are interested in stem-cells that give rise to blood and blood vessels,” he said. “We have one person who is doing very interesting work on kidneys, with the hope of someday being able to grow new kidneys. We have a new fellow who is doing work with embryonic stem-cells. And we have a new fellow who is interested in a lot of things – but one thing he’s interested in is neural stem-cells and cells that give rise to nerve cells.”
Not all stem-cells are the same. While embryonic stem-cells are thought to have the potential to transform into any type of cell in the body, stem-cells from adults have more limited abilities.
“Embryonic stem cells are kind of a blank slate,” said Ault. “We think they can become anything. Adult stem-cells are more restricted. We get most of the stem-cells we work with from adults. The embryonic stem-cells we get through the (National Institute for Health).”
Because of MMCRI’s relation to Maine Medical Center, the institute has a reliable source of adult stem-cells.
“We do bone marrow transplants every week at the hospital,” said Ault. “For years we’ve known that there were stem cells in the bone marrow. We’ve learned now that there are stem cells throughout the body.”
Due to its dependence on discarded embryos, embryonic stem-cell research has become mired in national controversy and the subject of political debate. Although MMCRI has access to embryonic stem-cells for its one lab that uses them, they are not as easy as adult stem-cells to come by. In 2001, President Bush signed into law legislation that bans federal funding for any research that uses embryonic stem-cell lines developed after August 9, 2001. That leaves 21 stem-cell lines left, though Ault says only 12 actually turned out to be viable.
“For any one line, there’s an unlimited supply,” said Ault. “But there’s a limited number of lines…the way you get embryonic stem-cells is you take them from an embryo. It turns out if you use 12 different embryos, you’re going to get 12 slightly different cell lines. And of the twelve we have, some can be made into some things better than others.”
What this means is that stem-cell research in the United States that is funded federally is limited to what can be done with twelve stem-cell lines.
“It doesn’t directly affect what we are doing at the moment,” said Ault of the federal policy. “I think we all feel that there is a lot more potential out there though. There are a lot of things we wouldn’t consider doing because we don’t want to put ourselves in a position of violating federal rules. But there are lots and lots of questions to be answered, so its not like we don’t have plenty to keep ourselves busy.”
Although current research at MMCRI is not currently being impeded by federal policy, Ault is concerned about the effect on the field in general.
“We all feel that the growth of this field in the United States is being held back,” he said. “Even if it’s not being held back exactly by the rules, people don’t want to go into a field where they’re at risk of being called a criminal. People are being held back psychologically, if not physically.”
Ault said some biomedical research institutions are able to avoid the federally-imposed restrictions by creating an entirely separate lab which does not rely on federal funding. They are then allowed to create as many stem-cell lines as they want. Because MMCRI is dependent on funding from NIH, Ault says there is no way MMCRI could follow that route.
“We couldn’t do that here – our electric bills are paid largely by NIH,” said Ault.
Besides Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, MMCRI is the only organization engaged in stem-cell research in Maine.
“A lot of our research is very similar,” said Ault. “Since we’re smaller, we’re much more specialized. Jackson Labs does a lot of different things…because we’re part of a hospital we’re positioned well to make our research very clinically relevant. They’re focused more on the mouse…we’re focused more on the human.”
It was only two years ago that MMCRI had only one scientist working on stem-cell research. Then a $12 million grant came through that allowed MMCRI to develop the facilities and draw in the researchers needed for a stronger program.
“We had no problem recruiting great scientists,” said Ault. “Once you have the facilities and the funding to bring them here – they love living in Maine, Boston is only an hour a half away, and we’ve got close contact with the scientific community…I don’t see any reason why Maine can’t have a thriving biomedical research industry. And once you have the critical mass of biomedical research going on, then you have the biotech start to spin off, and we’re just beginning to see that.”
Although he serves in an administrative role now, Ault had a long career as a hematologist. Asked how scientists come up with an idea for a particular line of research, he responded with an answer that bespoke his research experience.
“I always say a scientist is like an artist,” he said. “Why does an artist paint a picture? I don’t know – I’m not an artist. But people say it’s just something inside of you. You paint it because that’s what you need to do. And then you have to go sell it to somebody to get enough money to paint the next picture, and that’s really what scientists do. You think of an experiment you can do or a question you can answer and you just go do it…there’s a lot of pressure on scientists to be practical right from the beginning but I think that’s not really the way it works. It starts out as an intellectual exercise. If you force a scientist to come up with an application before they come up with the science, I think you’re restricting them.”
As for the future of MMCRI, Ault said he is hoping the institute will nearly double in size in the near future. Although any growth is contingent on funding, there are plans for a 25,000-square foot expansion, further collaborations with research institutions throughout Maine and New England and a possible new program for high school students.
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