Stem Cell Research Timeline

The information used to compile this Stem Cell Research Timeline comes from many different sources, including the National Institutes of Health. A useful list of links to other stem cell research timelines from around the Web can be found at the bottom of this page.

Though there was some evidence of stem cells or ‘special cells’ able to produce other cells as early as the late 1800s, this timeline begins in 1961 with the first published study that accidentally identified cells that are able to renew indefinitely for a variety of uses.

Stem Cell History Timeline 1961-2009

February 1, 1961:
Till & McCulloch establish the foundation for stem cell science.


July 12, 1974:
Congress Bans All Federally Funded Fetal Tissue Research


July 12, 1974:
National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research


1975:
Ethics Advisory Board Established


1980:
President Reagan Kills Ethics Advisory Board


1988:
Federal Panel Approves Funding of Embryo Research


1990:
President George H.W. Bush Vetos Bill Lifting Moratorium


1993:
President Clinton Executive Order Lifts Moratorium


1994:
President Clinton Reverses Order


1995:
Dickey-Wicker Amendment


1998:
James Thomson Isolates Human Embryonic Stem Cells


January 1999:
HHS Legal Opinion OKs Research on hESC Lines


April 1999:
Harold Varmus Appoints Oversight Committee


1999 to 2000:
NIH Guidelines and Bush Disapproval


February 2000:
Influx of Reponses on Proposed Guidelines


August 25, 2000:
NIH Guidelines for Research Go Into Effect


April 2001:
Grant Application Review Postponed for Bush Administration


August 2001:
President Bush Prohibits Federal Funding of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research


January 2004:
President's Council on Bioethic: "Monitoring Stem Cell Research"


April 26, 2005:
National Academies Releases "Guidelines for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research"


May 2005:
President's Council on Bioethics: "Alternative Sources of Pluripotent Stem Cells"


December 21, 2006:
ISSCR Guidelines


April 30, 2007:
New NAS Guidelines


June 20, 2007:
President Bush Calls for Work on Alternate Sources


November 2007:
Yamanaka and Thomson Independently Derive iPS Cells


May 2008: Report:
Only 16 of 21 Lines Eligible for Federally Funding Were Ethically Derived


September 5, 2008:
NAS Release New Guidelines


December 3, 2008:
ISSCR Releases Guidelines for Clinical Translation


January 20, 2009:
New Administration Begins


March 9, 2009:
President Obama Reverses George W. Bush's 2001 Executive Order


October 11, 2010: Geron Initiates Clinical Trial of Human Embryonic Stem Cell-Based Therapy


November 22, 2010:
Advanced Cell Technology Wins FDA Approval To Test Stem Cell Therapy For Degenerative Eye Disease


January 20, 2011:
Stem cell pioneer Ernest McCulloch dies


July 27, 2011:
Suit against federal stem cell research dismissed


November 13, 2011:
Pope hails potential of adult stem cell research


January 25, 2012:
Blindness eased by historic stem cell treatment


August 24, 2012:
Court upholds federal funding of embryonic stem cell research


December 28, 2012:
Scientists Create Stem Cells From Urine


June 2013:
Pluripotent Stem Cells Derived from Cloned Human Embryos


July 2013:
Human Liver Created from Stem Cells


August 2013:
The World's First Test-Tube Burger is Made from Cow Stem Cells


April 2014:
British scientists make custom-made body parts using stem cells


July 8, 2015:
Researchers develop patient-specific heart cells from stem cells


September 25, 2015:
Scientists Grow Fully Functional Kidneys From Stem Cells


February 18, 2016:
Woman's blindness apparently reversed by stem cell treatment


February 20, 2016:
Stem cells used to replace part of the human brain


June 2016:
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Progression Stopped by Stem Cell Treatment


July 2017:
First Human Embryos Edited in U.S. using CRISPR Technique


August 2017:
FDA creates a forum for patients to guide its decision making


May 2018:
First 3D-printed cornea made from algae and human stem cells


Although this timeline is updated often, it is not an exhaustive list of the many advancements taking place in the stem cell industry. Please check back often for updates.

Other stem cell research timelines from around the Web: