Of all the races and ballot issues involved in yesterday's election, perhaps no result had as much of an impact on the University as the passage of Proposal 2, which loosened the state's restrictions on embryonic stem cell research.

Soon after the passage of the proposal, University officials and members of the scientific community expressed excitement about the initiative, arguing that they will have greater access to discarded embryos from fertility treatment centers, which would allow them to derive their own embryonic stem cell lines.

Proposal 2 passed with 52 percent of the vote, with almost all the state’s precincts reporting.

University President Mary Sue Coleman said the amendment would open up opportunities to stem cell researchers at the University.

"The passage of Proposal 2 by Michigan voters signals an exciting new era for scientific research and innovation in our state,” she said in a press release. “By expanding research with the creation of new embryonic stem cells, University of Michigan scientists can broaden their pursuit of therapies and cures for medical disorders that touch the lives of thousands of Michigan families.”

While the University is already considered one of the leading institutions in adult stem cell research, it hasn’t been able to do the same amount of embryonic stem cell research as schools in other states because of a 1978 Michigan law that prohibited the destruction of embryos. This law will be overturned through the Proposal 2 amendment, which takes affect Dec. 19.

In February 2007, the University opened a laboratory that conducts research on embryonic stem cells, but was forced to use private funding to do so. Researchers in the lab obtained stem cells from other universities and research centers, which slows the research process, according to Sean Morrison, the lab's lead scientist.

On the passage of Proposal 2, Morrison, the director of the University's Center for Stem Cell Biology, said, "Proposal 2 will allow research in Michigan that is already occurring throughout most of the rest of the country, while entrenching restrictions in the state constitution that ensure that the research is performed ethically and under oversight mandated by federal law.”

Morrison serves on the board of Michigan Citizens for Stem Cell Research and Cures, an organization that publicizes what it believes are the benefits of stem cell research. MCSCRC donated money to the campaign for Proposal 2.

Morrison said the University can now launch new research programs that would have been impossible without Proposal 2.

Passed by only 4 percent of the vote, Proposal 2 faced many opponents, including Michigan Citizens Against Unrestricted Science and Experimentation. MiCause campaigned against Proposal 2, arguing that it didn’t provide enough regulation on how the research or the use of the resulting therapies.

Robert Kelch, executive vice president for the University’s medical affairs, said stem cell scientists and researchers will uphold high ethical standards while exploring the opportunities embryonic stem cells provide.

"Now, it is up to us in the scientific community to build upon what the voters have given us, and to maintain their trust and respect by carrying out this research with the utmost regard for both ethical and legal boundaries. All of us at the University of Michigan are committed to that goal, no matter what our field of research,” Kelch said.

University scientists and researchers, including Eva Feldman, director of the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute, expressed their appreciation to Michigan residents for passing Proposal 2.

“It is so gratifying that the people of Michigan understand the critical role that embryonic stem cell research can play in the health and well-being of our state.