Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi Visits Gladstone On Friday, April 17, Gladstone was proud to host a visit and tour by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The speaker and her staff began with a tour of the stem cell core lab and a microscopic view of stem cells that were differentiated into beating heart cells. A large group of media was on hand, which translated into local coverage, as well as photos appearing in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and others. After viewing the new hospital site and Dr. Joe DeRisi's lab at UCSF, Gladstone's President, Dr. Robert W. Mahley had the privilege of participating with the speaker in a press conference at Genentech Hall. Mrs. Pelosi spoke about the renewed priority for science and education in the Obama administration and cited Gladstone and UCSF as examples of organizations providing state-of-the-art science and education for future generations. Quite surprisingly, the speaker also announced a planned $3 million appropriation for Gladstone's HIV research, which prompted an audible gasp from the audience. The speaker's enthusiasm and awareness of our role in stem cell research was quite gratifying. That role was underscored as she signed a picture that was taken of her and Shinya Yamanaka at President Obama's announcement rescinding restrictions on stem cell research. All in all, it was a very productive visit.