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Our Spokesperson: Bernard Siegel
 Bernard Siegel is the founder and full-time executive director of the nonprofit Genetics Policy Institute (GPI) based in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. He is the founder and the co-chair of the World Stem Cell Summit series of global conferences and editor-in-chief of the World Stem Cell Report. He also serves as the co-chair of the Governmental Affairs Committee of the International Society for Stem Cell Research.
A native of Richmond, Virginia, he received his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Miami (BA 1972, JD 1975). He is a member of the Florida Bar since 1975.
In 2002, Mr. Siegel filed the landmark case seeking a guardian for the alleged clone, "Baby Eve." The case was widely credited for exposing Clonaid, the so-called "human cloning company" as a sham.
In 2003, he traded his 30-year courtroom career to found GPI, which leads the global "Pro-Cures Movement" and Stem Cell Action Coalition for Cures. He is a recognized policy expert relating to stem cell research, regenerative medicine and cloning. Working with the world's leading stem cell researchers, Mr. Siegel played a pivotal role in galvanizing a global movement that successfully lobbied the United Nations to reject a treaty that called for a prohibition of nuclear transfer (therapeutic cloning). He works with grassroots activists throughout the United States, educating lawmakers, the media and public. He formulates effective strategies supporting research for cures.
He is a frequent lecturer, panelist and keynote speaker on the subject of stem cells and public policy. He has addressed the United Nations, the Salk Institute, James Baker Institute of Public Policy at Rice University, New York Biotechnology Association, Diabetes Research Institute Foundation, Seoul National University, International Stem Cell Forum (Beijing), World Congress for Freedom of Scientific Research (Rome), Stem Cells European Business Summit (Edinburgh), Stem Cells Europe (Amsterdam), World Parkinson Congress, Association of American Law Schools, American College of Trial Lawyers, and at numerous colleges and universities.
Mr. Siegel has created and chaired a series of influential events impacting the field of stem cells:
June 2004. "Human Cloning Issues in all its aspects for the United Nations" at UN headquarters, New York.
June 2004. "First International Stem Cell Action Conference" at the University of California, Berkeley, co-organized with the Stem Cell Action Network.
August 2004. "Stem Cell Awareness Day with Janet Reno" at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami.
October 2004. "Patients Press Conference for the United Nations" at UN headquarters, New York, co-sponsored by the Coalition for Advancement of Medical Research, featuring a video appeal from Christopher Reeve.
June 2005. "Stem Cell Policy & Advocacy Summit: Sustaining the Mandate for Cures" in partnership with Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.
June 2006. "Stem Cell Policy & Advocacy Summit II: Empowering the Pro-Cures Coalition" co-sponsored with the Center for Biomedical Ethics, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California.
October 2006. "Stem Cell Town Hall Meeting with Governor Jennifer Granholm" at the University of Michigan-Dearborn.
October 2007. "The Stem Cell Summit" co- sponsored with the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and Burrill Life Sciences Media Group at the Hynes Convention Center, Boston, Massachusetts.
September 2008. "World Stem Cell Summit" hosted by the University of Wisconsin Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine Center and WiCell Research Institute, Madison, Wisconsin.
September 2009. "World Stem Cell Summit" hosted by Johns Hopkins University and the University System of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland. Through GPI, Mr. Siegel has worked to expand the Student Society for Stem Cell Research, which in a period of five years has grown into an education and advocacy organization having a presence in 15 countries, 35 states, 100 institutions and more than 30 active chapters at academic centers in the United States.
Mr. Siegel has appeared as a policy expert on the CBS Evening News, the CBS Early Show, CNN, CNN International, MSNBC, Fox and Friends, CNBC and network news shows throughout the U.S. and the world. He was profiled on National Public Radio's All Things Considered. He has been quoted in the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Wired, The Scientist, New Scientist, The London Times, Le Monde, Pravda, The Peoples Daily and many other publications.
In 2008, Mr.Siegel was appointed to the Editorial Board of the award-winning, Medline-indexed journal, Regenerative Medicine.
Mr.Siegel serves on the board of directors of Americans for Cures Foundation and on the advisory boards of the New England Regional Spinal Cord Injury Center at Boston Medical Center, Sabrina Cohen Foundation for Stem Cell Research, The Brooke Ellison Project and Genomics Education Institute. In addition, he serves on the Embryonic Stem Cell Research Oversight (ESCRO) Committee of the University of Miami and is a member of the American Society for Bioethics + Humanities.
Mr. Siegel has been recognized for his achievements. His honors include the 2005 Advocacy Award from the Stem Cell Action Network. In May 2006, he was voted one of the "dLife Top 10" individuals who made the greatest contribution to the lives of people with diabetes. |
