May 2, UCB - "Stem Cells in Regenerative Medicine," a talk and panel discussion at the University of California, Berkeley, about the hope stem cells offer for treating heart disease, nerve damage, cancer and other illnesses.

WHO: Michael D. West, Ph.D., president and chief scientific officer, Advanced Cell Technology, Inc., Worcester, Mass.

Mark B. Ratcliffe, M.D., chief, cardiothoracic surgery, Veterans Administration Medical Center, UC San Francisco

Mary H. Barcellos-Hoff, Ph.D., staff scientist, Life Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Irina Conboy, assistant professor of bioengineering, UC Berkeley

Paola S. Timiras, professor emerita of molecular and cell biology, UC Berkeley

WHEN: 5 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 4

WHERE: Sibley Auditorium, Bechtel Hall, UC Berkeley

DETAILS: Sponsored by UC Berkeley's Center for Research and Education in Aging and the Department of Bioengineering, this free conference explores the current state of stem cell research and the work underway at biotech companies and other research labs to employ stem cells to renew or repair damaged tissue and to treat cancer.