Mark Noble doesn't mask his relief over the end of the Bush administration's headlock on embryonic stem cell research. Access to human embryonic stem cells suitable for clinical use, after years of resistance from Bush, was the seismic shift in policy that researchers across the country had been waiting for, says Noble, a URMC professor of Genetics.

"The significance here with the Obama administration is that we are finally freeing science from political agendas," he says.

URMC scientists were recently awarded $6.8 million in stem-cell research grants from the Empire State Stem Cell Board. The grants will be applied to research programs on cancer, neurological disorders, musculoskeletal diseases, and to build further understanding of the mechanics of stem-cell biology. The grant was part of Governor David Paterson's first major release of funding - more than $100 million - from the Empire State Stem Cell Board. The board has pledged more than $600 million in grants over 11 years.

Despite the toll that the economic downturn is taking on the scientific community, Noble says, Connecticut, California, New Jersey, and New York continue to invest in stem-cell research because of its tremendous promise to both health care and the economy.

"There is recognition out there that this type of science is capable of substantially reducing health-care costs," Noble says. "If you can cure diabetes with cell transplants versus ongoing treatment that costs this country $30 billion annually - for one disease - it becomes an investment, not just in our health-care system, but in our economic stability."

URMC is taking a lead role in understanding cancer stem cells, which tend to be remarkably resistant to most drug therapies. Some researchers believe that cancer's reoccurrence is linked to these "root cause" cells.

"One of our lead researchers, Craig Jordan, has found drugs that can target and kill these cancer stem cells, and that work has already gone to clinical trials," Noble says.

But more money is needed. Despite the economic potential for stem-cell research, "The budget for all federally funded scientific research is less than 7 percent of the annual military budget," Noble says.