Censored or Unchecked, Stem Cell Celebrity or Stem Cell Con-Man

As a research scientist from Ivy League, I have been regularly going to scientific meetings since I was a graduate student, some as part of my training and continuing education. But I have never felt so unwelcomed by stem cell meetings since I was drawn into the human embryonic stem cell filed. Research is the sanctuary I trusted with high standards and integrity I was taught. The Korean scandal in Science was a shocker, but I thought it was just some isolated incident at that time. So I was shocked when my poster of human embryonic stem cell research from my hard work at the lab was declined by ISSCR program chair last year when it was perfectly OK to be presented in other non-stem cell meetings. At 2010 ISSCR meeting in San Francisco, stem cell celebrity Larry Goldstein was chasing after Taxes stem cell con man in 60 minutes, ironically, the biggest international stem cell con man was giving a keynote speech in the same meeting. Scientists, we did not sign up for this.