Mark Bale, PhD, is head of the Genetics Branch in the Scientific Developments and Bioethics Division in the U.K. Department of Health. Dr. Bale oversaw the recent U.K. Stem Cell Initiative and U.K. Government response as part of his overall responsibility for domestic and international policy on cloning and stem cells.  He is currently involved in the review of the 1991 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act and leads a team with responsibility for NHS genetics services and investment, the Human Genetics Commission, the Gene Therapy Advisory Committee and the Genetics and Insurance Committee.  He is also responsible for national and international activities on bioethics and genetics, including representation at the United Nations, Council of Europe, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.  Dr. Bale has a research background in microbial genetics and joined the Department of Health in 1999 after working on the occupational safety of genetically modified organisms and pathogens.             

William R. Brinkley, Ph.D. is the Senior Vice President for Graduate Sciences and Dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine. He is a Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and serves as co-director of the W.M. Keck Center for Computational Biology.  He received his PhD from Iowa State University in 1964 and served as a NIH postdoctoral trainee at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and as assistant and associate professor of Biology until 1972, when he accepted a position as professor and director of Cell Biology in the Department of Human Biological Chemistry at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, TX.  In 1976, he moved to Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, as the director of the Division of Cell Structure and Function in the Department of Cell Biology.  In 1985, he moved from Texas to become chairman of the Department of Cell Biology and Director of the Gregory Fleming James Cystic Fibrosis Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.  He returned to Baylor College of Medicine in his present position in 1991.  Dr. Brinkley is the recipient of a Merit Award from the National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, where he has received continuous funding for over 33 years for his research on cell division and genomic instability in tumor cells.         

Baruch Brody, PhD, is a professor of Biomedical Ethics and Director of the Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy at Baylor College of Medicine.  He is also the Andrew Mellow Professor of Humanities in the Department of Philosophy at Rice University and Director of the Ethics Program at The Methodist Hospital.  He taught at MIT from 1967 to 1975, and has been at rice since 1975, and at Baylor since 1982.  Dr. Brody has served on the DSMB (Data Safety Monitoring Board) for the AIDS Clinical Trials Group, on the NIG’s RAC (Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee), on the Protocol Review Committee for the Bone Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network, and on the Bioethics Advisory Board of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.   Dr. Brody has served on the National Board of the American Philosophical Association, and is a past President of the Society for Health and Human Values, is a Fellow of the Hastings Center, and was elected in 2001 to the Institute of Medicine.  Dr. Brody received his BA from Brooklyn College in 1962, and his PhD from Princeton University in 1967.           

Arlene Y. Chiu, PhD, is the Director of Scientific Program and Review Activities at the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM).  Prior to joining the CIRM, Dr. Chiu was the Associate Director of the Office of Research Administration of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  Before that, she was the program director for Stem Cell Research and for Research on Spinal Cord Injury at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.  Dr. Chiu also served on the NIH Stem Cell Task Force and the NIH Stem Cell Implementation Committee, organized national and international workshops on stem cell research and led efforts to promote cooperation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in expediting the use of stem cell in therapies. Dr. Chiu graduated from Stanford University, received her PhD from the California Institute of Technology, and did her post-doctoral training at Washington University, St. Louis.

Judith L. Haley is the president and co-founder of Texans Advancement of Medical Research (TAMR). TAMR was started in 2003 by a small group of health advocates in response to legislation introduced by the 78th Texas Legislature to ban somatic cell nuclear transfer.  From 2003 to 2005, Ms. Haley served as vice chair of the Texas Diabetes Council, and was the key driver in promoting the passage of the first-ever statewide Diabetes School Guidelines Bills during the 79th legislature.  In addition, Ms. Haley is the vise president for Outreach and a member of the board of directors for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) Houston Chapter, as well as an Online JDRF diabetes support team member. She has served as JDRF government relations state leader for the state of Texas and JDRF government relations liaison for the Western Region of the United States.  Ms. Haley has served as a member of the JDRF National Communication Committee, advising the international board of directors.         

Karen K. Hirschi, PhD, is associate professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Molecular & Cellular Biology in the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Baylor College of Medicine.  She is also part of the Program in Developmental Biology of Baylor College of Medicine, and Department of Bioengineering at Rice University.  One of the focuses of her laboratory is to investigate the potential of adult and embryonic stem and progenitor cells to contribute to neovascularization in response to tissue injury and growth.  She studies the mechanisms behind cell differentiation and integration into existing vascular networks. Dr. Hirschi and her lab expect insights from these studies to be applied to clinical treatments such as cell and gene therapy, the creation of blood vessel grafts, and the engineering of tissues.  Dr. Hirschi graduated with a BS from Pennsylvania State University and received her PhD from the University of Arizona.  She completed her post-doctoral training at Harvard Medical School.               

Lori P. Knowles is a bioethics policy consultant and research associate of Harvard Law Institute at the University of Alberta, Canada.  Ms. Knowles specializes in international comparative law, particularly as it relates to biotechnology regulation.  She has acted as  a consultant to President George W. Bush’s Council on Bioethics, President Clinton’s National Bioethics Advisory Commission, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Genome Canada, the Canadian Biotechnology Advisory Committee, and the National Academy of Sciences, among others.  She is a member of the Ethics Oversight Committee for the U.S. Department for Veterans Affairs DNA Tissue Bank and the Scientific Advisory Board of Genome Canada.  She is vice chair of the board of directors of the Institute of Forest Biotechnology in North Carolina, and a board member of the Pinchot Institute for Forest Conservation in Milford, Pennsylvania.  Ms. Knowles is also a member of the faculty of Bard College’s School of Environmental Policy.  She has practiced law in Toronto, Canada, and taught at the University of Wisconsin Law and Medical Schools. She holds law degrees from Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.      

Neal F. Lane, PhD, is the Malcolm Gillis University Professor at Rice University, professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, and senior fellow in Science and Technology at the James A. Baker III Institute of Public Policy.  Prior to returning to Rice University, Dr. Lane served in the federal government as assistant to the president for Science and Technology and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), from August 1998 to January 2001, and as director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and member (ex officio) of the National Science Board, from October 1993 to August 1998.  Before his post with NSF. Dr. Lane was provost and professor of Physics at Rice University in Houston, Texas, a position he held since 1986.  He first came to Rice in 1966, when he joined the Department of Physics as an assistant professor.  In 1972, he became professor of Physics and Space Physics and Astronomy.  He left Rice from mid 1984 to 1986 to serve as chancellor of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.  In addition, from 1979 to 1980, while on leave from Rice, he worked at the NSF as the Director of the Division of Physics.  Dr Lane received his PhD, MS, and BS in physics from Oklahoma University.               

Eugene H. Levy, PhD, was appointed to the Howard R. Hughes Chair as provost and professor of Physics and Astronomy at Rice University in 2000.  As provost, Professor Levy is the chief academic officer of the university and has the overall responsibility for educational and research programs.  Professor Levy received a PhD in Physics from the University of Chicago (1971) and an AB in Physics from Rutgers University (1966).  Dr. Levy’s research interests are focused in the areas of theoretical cosmic physics, and are aimed at elucidating mechanisms and processes that underlie physical phenomena in planetary and astrophysical systems.  His work has encompassed areas of planetary geophysics, magneto hydrodynamics, solar and space physics, and electrodynamics.  Professor Levy has served on numerous scientific consulting and policy advisory positions at the national and international levels.  Since 2005, Professor Levy has been a member of the NASA Advisory Council and chairman of the NASA Planetary Protection Advisory Committee. He became a member of the board of trustees of Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI) in 2001, and a member of the Space Telescope Institute Council in 2003.     

Colin McGuckin, PhD,  is a professor of Regenerative Medicine at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K.  Dr. McGuckin received his PhD studying leukemia in 2001 at Biomedical Sciences Research Centre, University of Ulster, UK.  Afterwards, he completed a postdoctoral position in the Department of Hematology at St. George’s Hospital Medical School. While there, he worked on chronic anemia’s and stem cell disorders.  In 1996, he became senior lecturer in Biomedical Sciences at Kinston University and ‘reader’ in 2001.  In 1999, he founded and became director of the Stem Cell Therapy Laboratory specializing in stem cell biology, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine.  His research collaborates internationally and with industry.  Dr. McGuckin is also a freelance journalist working with TV, radio, and print media and believes in promoting medical and scientific research understanding to the public.  In 2005, he was appointed the first Professor of Regenerative Medicine at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K., leading a clinical research program to take stem cells through to patients.            

Steven Minger, PhD,  is a senior lecturer and director of the Stem Cell Biology Laboratory at King’s College, London U.K.  He first pursued research in neural stem cell biology as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of California, San Diego.  After additional post-doctoral work at the University of Kentucky, he was appointed an assistant professor in Neurology at The University of Kentucky Medical School in 1995.  He then moved his research program to Guy’s Hospital in 1996, and was appointed Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences at King’s College London in 1998.  In 2002, Dr. Minger was awarded one of the first two licenses granted by Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority for the derivation of human embryonic stem cells, and his group regenerated the first human embryonic stem cell line in the U.K.  Dr. Minger’s laboratory is primarily interested in the generation of enriched populations of tissue-specific cell types from pluripotent embryonic stem cells for use in cellular replacement strategies for treating human diseases. Dr. Minger received his BA in Psychology form the University of Minnesota, and his PhD in Pathology (Neurosciences) from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.                

Kenneth I. Shine, MD, is the executive vice chancellor for Health Affairs at the University of Texas System and is responsible for the six University of Texas System Health Components and their aggregate operating budget.   A cardiologist and physiologist, Dr. Shine is the former president of the Institute of Medicine, where he addressed important issues in medicine and healthcare, such as quality of care and patient safety nutrition, food safety, and child development. Dr. Shine is a member of many honorary and academic societies, including Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha Omega Alpha, Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and American College of Physicians, and was elected to the Institute of Medicine in 1988.  He served as chairman of the Council of Deans of the Association of American Medical Colleges from 1991 to 1992, and was president of the American Heart Association from 1985 to 1986.  Dr. Shine received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and his MD from Harvard Medical School.

Elizabeth J. Shpall, MD, is professor of Medicine, medical director of the Clinical and cGMP Cell Therapy Laboratory, and director of the Cord Blood Bank at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.  Dr. Shpall was director of the Stem Cell Laboratory at Duke University until 1990 when she moved to the University of Colorado where she was the director of the Cord Bank, Stem Cell Laboratory, and Alpheresis Unit. She has been a member of the editorial boards of Blood, Biology of Blood, Marrow Transplantation, and Cytotherapy.  She has authored over 170 papers/chapters on stem cell transplantation.  She served as founding president of the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT) from 1995 to 2003, and is a past member of the American Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation (ASBMT) Board of Directors.  Dr. Shpall is a graduate of Brown University and earned her medical degree at the University of Cincinnati.            

Beverly Woolley is currently serving her sixth term in the Texas House of Representatives.  Presently, Representative Woolley is the chairman of the powerful House Committee on Calendars and serves as a member on the House Committee on Civil Practices and the House Committee on Ways & Means.  Her hard work and dedication to Texas has been recognized by various organizations.  The Jump$tart Coalition and the Texas Credit Union League have recognized Representative Woolley for her dedication to promoting financial literacy.  In February 2006, she received the 2005 National Desjardins Youth Financial Education Award for State Lawmakers from the Credit Union National Association.  The Texas Association of Business recognized Representative Woolley for her strong pro-business voting record.  The Texas Municipal Policy Association presented Representative Woolley with their Legislative Excellence Award, which is awarded to legislators who have demonstrated a strong commitment to law enforcement and criminal justice.  Representative Woolley is a native Houstonian and a cum laude graduate of the University of Houston.  She has been married to Lynn Woolley for forty-five years.  They have three children and three grandchildren.  Representative Woolley and her husband are small business owners of Houston Armature Works, Inc.