Stem Cell Centre CEO boycotts AusBiotech conference

Australian Stem Cell Centre (ASCC) CEO Dr Hugh Niall is to boycott the AusBiotech conference, which begins in Perth next week, where he was due to appear on a panel with South Korean stem cell expert Prof Woo-Suk Hwang.

Niall backed out of the conference after concerns were raised last week by Gerald Schatten of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine about Prof Hwang's process of obtaining oocytes and transparency issues.

"Until these concerns are satisfactorily addressed we will not be meeting with Prof Hwang or his team during their Australian visit next week," the ASCC said in a statement.

Schatten recently quit the international team of pioneering embryonic stem cell researchers led by Prof Hwang and based in South Korea, after one of its members was accused of donating her own eggs to the program.

Hwang was due to visit the ASCC on his way to Perth, but the visit was called off by the ASCC.