Alongside well-known legislators, scientists, doctors and stem cell researchers, 21-year-old Chris Baldowski and his mom watched hopefully as Gov. Jon S. Corzine and others officially broke ground yesterday for the Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey's Christopher Reeve Pavilion. Baldowski, who was paralyzed at age fifteen in a biking accident, felt the significance of the ceremony's timing as the Nov. 6 public referendum on $450 million in stem cell research funding looms on the horizon. "Oh yeah, I'll be voting," he said. His mother, Sue Baldowski, expressed excitement at the groundbreaking and the beginning of construction on the institute, which was also attended by New Jersey State Senate President Richard J. Codey and Dr. Joseph Bertino. "Things like this make us very hopeful. It's nice to see that people haven't forgotten and that there is something going on," she said. "So lets start digging. Let's do it." The excited conversation that filled the Arline and Henry Schwartzman Courtyard at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital stopped abruptly when the several speakers took the podium. "This is truly an exciting moment. It may be one of the most exciting since I've become governor," Corzine said. "[Stem cell research] is the hope that so many people live for. We are doing the right thing as we go forward today. We can make this happen, and I'm proud to be a New Jerseyan today." Codey also addressed the duration of the political fight for stem cell research and the need for persistence. "It's clearly been a very long road," he said. "Now we have an opportunity, with the referendum and with the building of this institute, to become number one in the country [with research.] There is a measure that is more important than any candidate on the ballot [this November,] and that is stem cell research." Corzine recognized Christopher Reeve, the institute's namesake, for his dedication to finding treatments and cures for health conditions including spinal cord injuries, childhood diabetes, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, multiple forms of cancer and others. "He was truly a Superman to all of us who dreamed of cures and treatments," Corzine said. Codey was one of several speakers who shared personal experience with loved ones affected by a debilitating illness. "I have a grandfather who suffered through Alzheimer's and I don't think anybody should have to see that, to see a man who was so dignified in life lose that dignity," he said. "And I wouldn't want it to happen to me, so that my sons would have to see me lose my dignity. I want to see, as part of my legacy, a cure for one of these diseases." Neil M. Cohen, Deputy Speaker for the State Assembly, emphasized the importance of voter turnout at the upcoming referendum. "If you have the chance to vote, this is probably the most important vote anybody in New Jersey is going to cast during their lifetime," he said. "When you leave today, you put in your diary that you need to go vote. Let's get this thing passed." Cohen also addressed the controversial issue of state finances and the research's price tag. "When people talk to me about $450 million, I say 'What is the price of a life?'" he said. "What is the price of a child who has diabetes? What is the price of a senior who is literally losing pieces of their body because of diabetes? What is the price? What is the value? We need those dollars. The key is we have to heal, and we have to heal now." Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Philip Furmanski, took the podium on behalf of the University, who is working in partnership at the Institute with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Furmanski commended the ability of the two institutions to lead the state's effort in stem cell research and to keep New Jersey at the forefront of the field. "New Jersey cannot afford to fall behind," he said. "We look forward to the day when we can celebrate the opening of this building and begin treating patients with the technologies developed at the world class Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey." Bertino, the institute's interim director, said the value of stem cells and their ability to develop into any type of cell in the body. In addition, he specifically recognized all of the stem cell researchers present in the audience. "Despite modern medicine, there are conditions and diseases that we can do little or nothing about," Bertino said. "But over the past three years, a new branch of medicine has emerged, one that is targeting these conditions, called regenerative medicine. These efforts will not only benefit New Jersey citizens, but also people throughout the country and the world." Sue Baldowski expressed both her gratitude for the establishment of the Institute and her uncertainty as to the future of stem cell research. "Well we're just hoping that in November the referendum passes. We're getting closer and closer and closer, but it just seems like such a long process. But we've gotten this far, and we're crossing our fingers. We just want it to be done with. It's been six years already [since Chris's accident.] There's not a day that goes by that I don't think 'I can't wait until he can hug me back.'"
Gov. breaks ground at institute
Published: Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Updated: Sunday, February 22, 2009
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