By Andrew Lyall

The past decade has seen a growing acknowledgement that catalyzing the movement of stem cell research into the clinic must be an international pursuit. In late 2004, Canada’s Stem Cell Network invited representatives from fourteen (14) national stem cell research networks and centres to a face-to-face meeting in Montreal. Most of these networks are funded by government with mandates to promote collaboration and training, conduct outreach, and facilitate economic development in the stem cell space.