Stem Cell Research Timeline

The information used to compile this Stem Cell Research Timeline comes from many different sources, including the National Institutes of Health. A useful list of links to other stem cell research timelines from around the Web can be found at the bottom of this page.

Though there was some evidence of stem cells or ‘special cells’ able to produce other cells as early as the late 1800s, this timeline begins in 1961 with the first published study that accidentally identified cells that are able to renew indefinitely for a variety of uses.

February 1, 1961:

Till & McCulloch establish the foundation for stem cell science.

Toronto scientists Drs. James Till, a biophysicist, and Ernest McCulloch, a haematologist, published accidental findings in "Radiation Research" that proved the existence of stem cells - cells that can self-renew repeatedly for various uses. Both worked for the Ontario Cancer Institute (OCI) at the time.

July 12, 1974:

Congress Bans All Federally Funded Fetal Tissue Research

The 93rd Congress implements a ban on nearly all federally funded fetal tissue research until the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research devises guidelines for it.

July 12, 1974:

National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research

The National Research Act established the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research within the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to define policy for protection of human subjects during medical and/or scientific experiments.

1975:

Ethics Advisory Board Established

Guidelines establish an Ethics Advisory Board for fetal and fetal tissue research that originate from abortions.

1980:

President Reagan Kills Ethics Advisory Board

President Ronald Reagan decides not to renew the Ethics Advisory Board's charter. The EAB had recommended federally funded investigations into the safety of in vitro fertilization using human embryos developed in vitro for no more than 14 days, but a de facto moratorium halts federal funding of human embryo research due to the EAB's disbanding.

1988:

Federal Panel Approves Funding of Embryo Research

Human Fetal Tissue Transplantation Research Panel reopens the question and votes 18-3 to approve the federal funding of embryo research. Despite this level of support for the research, the Department of Health and Human Services accepts the testimony of three conservative dissenters who argue that embryonic research would lead to an increase in abortions, and in response, extends the moratorium on this research.

1990:

President George H.W. Bush Vetos Bill Lifting Moratorium

Congress attempts to override the moratorium through legislation but President George H.W. Bush vetoes the measure.

1993:

President Clinton Executive Order Lifts Moratorium

HHS Secretary Donna Shalala lifts the moratorium on federal funding of human embryonic research in accordance with President Bill Clinton's executive order.

1994:

President Clinton Reverses Order

A National Institutes of Health human embryonic researcher panel supports the research but thousands of letters urge President Clinton to reverse his earlier decision. He agrees and federal funding of embryonic research is halted.

1995:

Dickey-Wicker Amendment

Congress bans the federal funding for research on embryos through the Dickey-Wicker Amendment, named after its sponsors Jay Dickey (R-AR) and Roger Wicker (R-MI). The amendment prohibits the use of federal funds for "the creation of human embryo or embryos for research purposes; or research in which a human embryo or embryos are destroyed, discarded, or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death greater than that allowed for research on fetuses in utero.

1998:

James Thomson Isolates Human Embryonic Stem Cells

University of Wisconsin scientist James Thomson isolates human embryonic stem cells and shows their potential to rejuvenate and to specialize into tissues. This discovery also initiates the ethical debate on human embryonic stem cell research because his team derives the stem cells through a process that destroys human embryos.

January 1999:

HHS Legal Opinion OKs Research on hESC Lines

NIH Director Harold Varmus receives a legal opinion from DHHS general council Harriet Rabb. Rabb finds that the Dickey-Wicker amendment does not apply to federal funding for research on embryonic stem cells because the cells do not meet the statutory definition of an embryo. The cells, however, would have to be derived with private funding.

April 1999:

Harold Varmus Appoints Oversight Committee

Harold Varmus appoints an oversight committee to draft guidelines for federally funding embryonic stem cells. The committee includes scientists, clinicians, ethicists, lawyers, patients, and patent advocates.

1999 to 2000:

NIH Guidelines and Bush Disapproval

The NIH develops guidelines for funding human embryonic stem cell research, but presidential candidate George W. Bush declares his opposition to the research in a campaign speech, so the NIH remains cautious about entertaining funding proposals until after the presidential election.

February 2000:

Influx of Reponses on Proposed Guidelines

Over 50,000 responses had been received on the committee's proposed guidelines.

August 25, 2000:

NIH Guidelines for Research Go Into Effect

NIH Guidelines for Research Using Human Pluripotent Stem Cells are published in the Federal Register over the summer and go into effect. They stipulate: human embryonic stem cells must be derived with private funds from frozen embryos from fertility clinics; they must have been created for fertility treatment purposes; be in excess of the donor's clinical need; and obtained with the consent of the donor. These guidelines also outlawed the federal funding of stem cells derived from embryos created by SCNT, even if the derivation took place with private funds.

April 2001:

Grant Application Review Postponed for Bush Administration

NIH postpones reviewing grant applications for human embryonic stem cell research in order to give the Bush administration time to review HHS policies.

August 2001:

President Bush Prohibits Federal Funding of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research

President Bush prohibits the federal funding of any research using stem cell lines derived after August 9, 2001, but his policy does not affect research in the private sector or research conducted with state funding. The president claims that more than 60 stem cell lines are available for funding.

January 2004:

President's Council on Bioethic: "Monitoring Stem Cell Research"

The President's Council on Bioethics, chaired by Leon Kass, publishes Monitoring Stem Cell Research, a report that contains "no proposed guidelines and regulations, nor indeed any specific recommendations for public policy." But according to Kass, the overarching goal of the report is "to convey the moral and social importance of the issue at hand and to demonstrate how people of different backgrounds, ethical beliefs, and policy preferences can reason together about it."

April 26, 2005:

National Academies Releases "Guidelines for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research"

The National Academies releases its "Guidelines for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research." In the news release, committee co-chair Richard O. Hynes explains, "A standard set of requirements for deriving, storing, distributing, and using embryonic stem cell lines - one to which the entire U.S. scientific community adheres- is the best way for this research to move forward."

May 2005:

President's Council on Bioethics: "Alternative Sources of Pluripotent Stem Cells"

The President's Council on Bioethics releases a white paper titled "Alternative Sources of Pluripotent Stem Cells"

December 21, 2006:

ISSCR Guidelines

The International Society for Stem Cell Research releases its "Guidelines for the Conduct of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research."

April 30, 2007:

New NAS Guidelines

The National Academies releases the 2007 amendments for its guidelines.

June 20, 2007:

President Bush Calls for Work on Alternate Sources

President Bush issues an executive order calling upon the HHS secretary to support and encourage research on alternative sources of pluripotent stem cells. He also requests that the Human Embryonic Stem Cell Registry be renamed the Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Registry.

November 2007:

Yamanaka and Thomson Independently Derive iPS Cells

Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University and James Thomson of the University of Wisconsin-Madison both publish papers on their separate discoveries of induced pluripotent stem cells. These pluripotent cells were created from skin cells that had four genes inserted into them with viruses. This procedure resulted in the skin cells acquiring properties similar to embryonic stem cells. Researchers were able to coax these so-called iPS cells into becoming beating heart cells and nerve cells.

May 2008: Report:

Only 16 of 21 Lines Eligible for Federally Funding Were Ethically Derived

Robert Streiffer, a bioethicist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, publishes a paper detailing his investigation into the consent forms for the federally approved human embryonic stem cell lines. Although 21 lines were viable at the time, he discovers that no more than 16 are both viable and ethically derived.

September 5, 2008:

NAS Release New Guidelines

The National Academies releases the 2008 amendments for its guidelines.

December 3, 2008:

ISSCR Releases Guidelines for Clinical Translation

The International Society for Stem Cell Research releases its new Guidelines for the Clinical Translation of Stem Cells

January 20, 2009:

New Administration Begins

Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th president of the United States, having promised to change the current restrictions on human embryonic stem cell research.

March 9, 2009:

President Obama Reverses George W. Bush's 2001 Executive Order

President Obama Issues Executive Order: Removing Barriers to Responsible Scientific Research Involving Human Stem Cells

October 11, 2010: Geron Initiates Clinical Trial of Human Embryonic Stem Cell-Based Therapy

Geron Corporation announced the enrollment of the first patient in the company's clinical trial of human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived oligodendrocyte progenitor cells, GRNOPC1.

November 22, 2010:

Advanced Cell Technology Wins FDA Approval To Test Stem Cell Therapy For Degenerative Eye Disease

Regenerative medicine company Advanced Cell Technology received federal approval from the US FDA to begin a multi-centre clinical trial that tests human embryonic stem cell treatment on patients with Stargardt's Macular Dystrophy, a disease that causes blindness.

January 20, 2011:

Stem cell pioneer Ernest McCulloch dies

Ernest McCulloch, who was part of the team that first proved the existence of stem cells, died at the age of 84 just days before a celebration to mark the 50th anniversary of the discovery. The cause of death is unknown. McCulloch was born in Toronto and worked as a lead researcher at the Ontario Cancer Institute and the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto.

July 27, 2011:

Suit against federal stem cell research dismissed

A lawsuit claiming that embryonic stem cell research funded by the National Institutes of Health violated the 1996 Dickey-Wicker law that prohibits taxpayer financing for work that harms an embryo was thrown out Wednesday, July 27, 2011, allowing for the Obama administration's funding of embryonic stem cell research to continue on embryos that were culled long ago through private funding. [Source: The Seattle Times]

November 13, 2011:

Pope hails potential of adult stem cell research

Pope Benedict XVI spoke out in favour of adult stem cell research and called for any ensuing treatments to benefit all who need the care regardless of their financial means. [Source: The Australian]

January 25, 2012:

Blindness eased by historic stem cell treatment

Two people with eye degeneration both say their vision improved in the four months after they received implants of retinal pigment epithelial cells made from hESCs (human embryonic stem cells). The treatments were also safe, with no sign that the cells triggered aggressive tumours called teratomas, no sign of immune rejection of the cells, and no inflammation. The procedures were performed by Dr. Robert Lanza, a renowned stem cell scientist from Massachusetts. One of the patients, who suffered from Stargardt disease, had replacement cells made from hESCs injected into one of her eyes and noticed improvement in vision. [Source: NewScientist]

August 24, 2012:

Court upholds federal funding of embryonic stem cell research

A senior US appeals court ruled on August 24, 2012 that the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) is legally able to fund research based on human embryonic stem cells. The decision was made by a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and upholds a 2011 decision by a lower court, which found that the NIH’s funding of the research was legal despite a 1996 law (Dickey-Wicker Amendment), passed by Congress, which forbids funding research in which human embryos are destroyed. The NIH-supported research uses cell lines derived by destroying day-old embryos. [Source: Nature News Blog]

December 28, 2012:

Scientists Create Stem Cells From Urine

Chinese scientists from the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health have converted cells found in urine into pluripotent stem cells that can be used to create neurons and brain cells. The researchers say the find holds huge potential for the rapid testing and development of new treatments for neuro-degenerative disorders. [Source: Reuters]

June 2013:

Pluripotent Stem Cells Derived from Cloned Human Embryos

Scientists recovered stem cells from cloned human embryos, a longstanding goal that could lead to new treatments for such illnesses as Parkinson's disease and diabetes, using somatic nuclear transfer, or SCNT. [Source: Cell Stem Cell , Volume 12, Issue 6]

July 2013:

Human Liver Created from Stem Cells

Scientists in Japan said they had grown human liver tissue from stem cells in a first that holds promise for alleviating the critical shortage of donor organs. [Source: Discovery]

August 2013:

The World's First Test-Tube Burger is Made from Cow Stem Cells

Created by Dutch scientist Mark Post of Maastricht University in the Netherlands, the world's first test-tube burger, made from lab-grown meat, has been cooked and eaten in London on August 5, 2013. The 142g patty was made from 20,000 strips of meat grown from cow stem cells.

April 2014:

British scientists make custom-made body parts using stem cells

London's Royal Free hospital, and others around the world, create custom made organs and body parts using stem cells. 'The new body part begins as a glass mould, based on the original, which is sprayed with a synthetic honeycomb-like material to create a framework for stem cells to cling to. The mould is then removed and the honey- comb covered with millions of ‘blank cells’ which, with the right nutrients, can turn into the cartilage of the organ.Meanwhile, the skin on another area of the body is gradually stretched by a small balloon placed under the surface and inflated until it is loose enough to accommodate the organ.After several months, the body part is taken out from under the skin and sewn into the right place.' [Source: The Daily Mail]

July 8, 2015:

Researchers develop patient-specific heart cells from stem cells

Published on June 18, a study published by Stanford Cardiovascular Medicine claims to have successfully used stem cells to recreate patient-specific heart cells. [Source: The Stanford Daily]

September 25, 2015:

Scientists Grow Fully Functional Kidneys From Stem Cells

Japanese researchers at the Jikei University School of Medicine in Tokyo have conducted a series of experiments which culminated in the creation of laboratory-grown kidneys that function successfully when transplanted into a living breathing organism. [Source: Science Alert]

February 18, 2016:

Woman's blindness apparently reversed by stem cell treatment

Vanna Belton, a restaurant owner, regained much of her vision after participating in a stem cell study through NIH. The procedure was performed by Dr. Jeffrey N. Weiss in Margate, Florida. [Source(s): The Baltimore Sun and I Love South Florida]

February 20, 2016:

Stem cells used to replace part of the human brain

Scientists at Riken's Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe, Japan have coaxed human embryonic stem cells into developing the cell type and structure necessary to replicate a working pituitary gland. The team have coaxed human embryonic stem cells into developing the cell type and structure necessary to replicate a working pituitary gland. Or, as they describe it, a functioning three-dimensional pituitary-like structure.[Source: The Japan Times]

June 2016:

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Progression Stopped by Stem Cell Treatment

24 MS patients underwent a risky procedure that involves the complete destruction and regeneration of the immune system using stem cell therapy. 23 are show signs of full recovery. 1 died during treatment. [Source: Stem Cell Tracker]

July 2017:

First Human Embryos Edited in U.S. using CRISPR Technique

The first known attempt at creating genetically modified human embryos in the United States has been carried out by a team of researchers in Portland, Oregon. [Source: MIT Technology Review]

August 2017:

FDA creates a forum for patients to guide its decision making

The FDA has set a date for the first-ever meeting of its first-everPatient Engagement Advisory Committee (PEAC). [Source: The Stem Cellar]

May 2018:

First 3D-printed cornea made from algae and human stem cells

Researchers mixed stem cells from the cornea of a healthy donor with collagen and algae molecules to create a bio-ink, which they 3D-printed into an artificial cornea. [Source: Digital Trends]

Although this timeline is updated often, it is not an exhaustive list of the many advancements taking place in the stem cell industry. Please check back often for updates.

Other stem cell research timelines from around the Web: