Ring in 2011 with a stem cell calendar

For yet another last minute Christmas gift for the scientifically inclined -- one that will not only help keep track of the coming year but also support stem cell research in the U.S. -- consider the linkurl:CELLebrity Doctors;http://www.cellebritydocscalendar.com/ calendar.

July: Robert Lanza
Image: Megan O'Neil Photography

Brainchild of Sabrina Cohen, a Miami native who heads the linkurl:Sabrina Cohen Foundation for Stem Cell Research,;http://www.sabrinacohenfoundation.org/ the calendar features 12 researchers who are pushing the boundaries of stem cell research on a variety of human diseases including diabetes, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's disease, among others. The glossy pages include Memorial Sloan-Kettering Institute neurologist linkurl:Lorenz Studer,;http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/10920.cfm linkurl:Nicholas Maragakis;http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/neurology_neurosurgery/experts/profiles/team_member_profile/765536147B11BF8F28BBACD5A22525A3/Nicholas_Maragakis from Johns Hopkins, linkurl:Robert Lanza,;http://www.robertlanza.com/ chief scientific officer at Advanced Cell Technology, and linkurl:Gary Hammer,;https://www.physiology.med.umich.edu/research/profiles/hammer.htm director of the endocrine oncology program at University of Michigan's Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Images: (from left to right) December: Gary Hammer, February: Joshua Hare, and October: Hans KeirstadCohen and the director of business development for the foundation, Bernis Katz, spent the better part of this year wooing the 12 researchers from across the U.S. away from their busy schedules and putting them right in front of the cameras. They were met with giggles and a few replies of the "I-don't-think-I'm-calendar-material"-sort, but for the most part the researchers were highly enthusiastic about the idea, Cohen said. By selling the calendars at $18 a pop, Cohen hopes to rake in from $15,000 to $20,000, which will go toward a $25,000 grant funding a stem cell researcher that will be awarded in 2011. The foundation has already awarded two grants since its inception in 2006.

Sabrina Cohen
Image: Neox Image

The promise of stem cell research strikes a deeply personal chord in Cohen, who has been a quadriplegic ever since she was in a car accident in her high school sophomore year. "Sabrina is an amazing person," said cardiologist linkurl:Joshua Hare,;http://www.med.miami.edu/isci/people.html who runs an interdisciplinary stem cell research institute in the University of Miami, and graced the calendar as February. "She's got so much energy. She's devoted her life to support stem cell research.""I'm really proud to be associated with this project and bringing all these amazing scientists together," said Cohen, who will soon start working on a 2012 calendar.Calendars are available at linkurl:cellebritydocscalendar.com;http://www.cellebritydocscalendar.com/
**__Related stories:__***linkurl:Scientific stocking stuffers;http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/57859/
[9th December 2010]*linkurl:Super Stemmys, a stem cell story;http://www.the-scientist.com/blog/display/57276/
[8th April 2010]*linkurl:Benefits of the stem cell ban;http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/55752/
[8th June 2009]