News Release

EVENT NEWS / February 11, 2007

Diverse Perspectives Series at Boise State University Features Film about Stem Cell Research

“Mapping Stem Cell Research: Terra Incognita,” the latest film in the Diverse Perspectives Film Series at Boise State University, will be shown from 5:30-7 p.m. Feb. 19 in the Student Union and from 10:30 a.m.-noon Feb. 23 in room 102-E of Boise State West in Nampa. Both screenings are free and open to the public.

Stem cell research is one of the most controversial issues in the United States and one that will undoubtedly become part of the upcoming presidential election. “Mapping Stem Cell Research: Terra Incognita” goes beyond the rhetoric to put a human face on the issue, introducing viewers to doctors, researchers and patients on the front lines.

Following the film in Boise, professor emeritus Conrad Colby will speak and lead an audience discussion about issues raised in the film. Colby is a member of the St. Luke’s medical ethics committee and taught applied ethics in medical and health policy at Boise State’s College of Health Sciences for 15 years. In Nampa, Independent Television Service regional outreach coordinator Lynn Allen will lead the audience discussion.

“Mapping Stem Cell Research: Terra Incognita” tells the story of Dr. Jack Kessler, the chair of Northwestern University’s Department of Neurology and Clinical Neurological Sciences, and his daughter, Allison, an undergraduate student at Harvard University. When Kessler was invited to head up the neurology department at Northwestern, his focus was on using stem cells to treat the neurological complications of diabetes.

However, soon after his move to Chicago, Allison — then age 15 — was injured in a skiing accident and paralyzed from the waist down. In the moments following the accident, Dr. Kessler made the decision to change the focus of his research to begin looking for a cure for spinal cord injuries using embryonic stem cells. The film follows him in his alternately frustrating and exhilarating research, as well as two young women whose lives were devastatingly altered by spinal cord injuries.

The Diverse Perspectives Film Series is presented by the Boise State Cultural Center, Idaho Public Television and the Independent Television Service. For more information, call the Cultural Center at 426-5950.

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Media Contact: Julie Hahn, University Communications, (208) 426-5540, juliehahn@boisestate.edu

Boise State University is emerging as a metropolitan research university of distinction. This transformation is being powered by the university’s first comprehensive campaign to support students, faculty, strategic initiatives, research and infrastructure. That’s why the campaign to raise $175 million in private support is called Destination Distinction.
 

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Last reviewed on Monday, February 11, 2008