Washington, D.C., March 9, 2009—AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) President and CEO Darrell G. Kirch, M.D., issued the following statement today on the Obama administration's executive order overturning limits on stem cell research:

"The AAMC thanks President Obama for lifting restrictions on the federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research. This executive order recognizes the need to expand federal support of stem cell research so that millions of patients can benefit from the scientific and medical breakthroughs that may result from this extremely promising research.

We look forward to working with the National Institutes of Health as it develops the strict ethical guidelines called for by President Obama, and moves forward with research to improve the health of the nation."

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The Association of American Medical Colleges is a not-for-profit association representing all 131 accredited U.S. and 17 accredited Canadian medical schools; nearly 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems, including 68 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; and nearly 90 academic and scientific societies. Through these institutions and organizations, the AAMC represents 128,000 faculty members, 75,000 medical students, and 110,000 resident physicians. Additional information about the AAMC and U.S. medical schools and teaching hospitals is available at www.aamc.org/newsroom.

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