On Tuesday, May 1, James Thomson, one of the leading scientific innovators in stem cell research, will deliver a free lecture at UCSB titled “Human Embryonic Stem Cells: Implications for Basic Cancer Research.”

The public lecture is at 6:30 p.m. in Room 1701 of the new Theatre and Dance Building across from the Humanities and Social Sciences Building. Call x5819 for reservations, which are required due to seating capacity limits.

Thomson, who has been described as the father of stem cell research, is a John D. MacArthur Professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, a faculty member of the Genome Center of Wisconsin, and an adjunct professor in UCSB’s Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology.

The Oak Park, Ill., native is also board certified in veterinary pathology. Since the early 1990s he has conducted pioneering laboratory work on the isolation and culture of nonhuman primate and human embryonic stem (ES) cells—undifferentiated cells of the body. Human ES cells provide researchers with unprecedented access to the cellular components of the human body, with applications in basic research, drug discovery, and transplantation medicine.

Currently, Thomson’s research focuses on understanding how ES cells can form any cell in the body; how an ES cell chooses between self-renewal and the initial decision to differentiate; and how a differentiated cell with limited developmental potential can be reprogrammed to develop into a cell with specific qualities.

The event, which is co-sponsored by the Cancer Center of Santa Barbara and the Doreen J. Putrah Cancer Research Foundation, is part of UCSB’s Frontiers in Cancer Research lecture series.