Important questions about stem cell therapies will be addressed today at the Regenerative Bioscience Center’s symposium.

Steve Stice, an animal and dairy science professor who specializes in stem cell research, said he sets up the event twice a year.

“There will be a focus on progress in the science,” Stice said.

He added although the symposium is usually directed at both the public and academia, this symposium will be “a little more science based.”

Stem cells are a type of cell capable of becoming any type of cell in the body. This ability has led to promise in hopes of regenerating lost tissues or curing diseases.

Featured speakers include Michael Pierce, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, and Ravi Bellamkonda, a professor of biomedical engineering at Georgia Tech.

Bellamkonda said he will speak about the general challenges of cell transplantation, particularly in the nervous system.

He said he hopes to show many problems within the field have not been solved.

“There’s this temptation to jump on the stem cell bandwagon,” he said. “I want to show what’s really possible, outside of the media hype — and this includes problems.”

He added the symposium gives the public the opportunity to hear how the field is progressing directly from a scientific point of view.

“On this issue, I’d rather hear from a scientist than a politician,” Bellamkonda said.

He said, to this end, he would try not to make his speech too technical.

“I will find a medium where people without the background in science will be OK,” he said.

Pierce said his focus will be on glycomics, the study of carbohydrates in the cell.

“I’m going to give a broad introduction to glycomics and why it’s important to stem cells,” he said.

The carbohydrates he will talk about exist outside the cell and mark what the cell’s function is, he said.

He added the symposium “raises the visibility of biomedical research at the University and in Georgia.

“Part of this symposium is to acquaint the public with the Regenerative Bioscience Center,” he said.

In the end, Stice said he asked all of the featured speakers to bring their unique perspectives.

“These people are leaders in the field, and it’s a great opportunity for people at the University to see where stem cell and regenerative science stands today,” he said.

Pierce’s research is part of a $6.2 million grant from the National Center for Research Resources, a part of the National Institutes of Health.

The last symposium was held over the summer and included presentations from several universities nationwide, including speeches on creating heart cells from stem cells, the genetics of cell transformation and the properties of cell aging.

The next symposium will be in October, Stice said.

“It’s a great way to attract biotech companies to Georgia,” Pierce said. “It’s an industry of the future.”

“Whenever we get the chance, we like to show biomedical research here,” Pierce said.

Bellamkonda’s appearance at the symposium conference also represents an initiative to have grants support joint projects between the University and Georgia Tech, Stice said.

“It’s another opportunity to show commonality between the two schools,” he added.