Stem cell scientists bullish about grants, jobs

The University of Michigan is preparing to start a search for four top stem cell scientists. And that's just the beginning as the university heralds the passage of a new state law taking the wraps off of embryonic stem cell research. University officials say they expect to win millions of dollars in new federal grants after the new administration takes office and repeals restrictions the Bush Administration put into place at the beginning of his first term.

Michigan is one of many areas around the state that has been bullishly forecasting fast growth for the research field. That could also be a big help to developers in the field, which have been attracting fresh investment capital even as the credit crunch has swiftly slashed the amount of new money that's available to the biotech industry.

Some of the scientists that can look forward to new opportunities may be working abroad.

"Current policy has depressed the field" of research and caused an exodus of scientists from the United States to other countries where such research is flourishing, University of Iowa researcher Nicholas Zavazava tells USA Today. But "we are a big country; we ought to be able to roll things back."

- read the report from Crain's Detroit
- check out the story from USA Today

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