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David Prentice, Ph.D.
Former Vice President and Director of Research for Charlotte Lozier InstituteDavid A. Prentice is a guest contributor for the Charlotte Lozier Institute.  He is also Advisory Board Chair and a Founding Member for the Midwest Stem Cell Therapy Center, a unique comprehensive stem cell center in Kansas that he was instrumental in creating. In 2020, he was appointed by the Secretary of HHS to the federal Human Fetal Tissue Ethics Advisory Board. Dr. Prentice has almost 50 years’ experience as a scientific researcher and professor, including previous service as senior fellow for life sciences at the Family Research Council, Professor of Life Sciences at Indiana State University, Adjunct Professor of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Indiana University School of Medicine, and Adjunct Professor of Molecular Genetics at the John Paul II Institute, Catholic University of America.
He established Stem Cell Research Facts, an educational website providing scientific facts and patient-centered videos about adult stem cells, and is a founding member of Do No Harm: The Coalition of Americans for Research Ethics, and an advisory board member for the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity. He has provided scientific advice for numerous medical and science professionals, legislators, policymakers and organizations at the state, federal, and international levels.
Dr. Prentice received his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Kansas, and was at Los Alamos National Laboratory and the University of Texas Medical School-Houston before joining Indiana State University where in addition to his research and teaching, he served as Acting Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences and Assistant Chair of Life Sciences. He was recognized with the University’s Caleb Mills Distinguished Teaching Award and Faculty Distinguished Service Award. He has taught subjects ranging from non-majors biology to advanced and graduate courses including developmental biology, embryology, cell and tissue culture, history of biology, science and politics, pathophysiology, medical genetics, and medical biochemistry. Several of his courses were also taught on-line.
He received the 2007 Walter C. Randall Award in Biomedical Ethics from the American Physiological Society, given for promoting the honor and integrity of biomedical science through example and mentoring in the classroom and laboratory. He was honored in 2018 with selection for the 31st A. Kurt Weiss Lectureship on Biomedical Ethics, Oklahoma University Health Science Center. Dr. Prentice’s research interests encompass various aspects of cell growth control, cell and developmental biology; one major focus is adult stem cells.  He has reviewed for various professional publications including The Journal of the American Medical Association.
He is an internationally-recognized expert on stem cell research, cell biology and bioethics, and has provided scientific lectures and policy briefings in 40 states and 21 countries, including testimony before the U.S. Congress and numerous state legislatures, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the U.S. President’s Council on Bioethics, European Parliament, British Parliament, Canadian Parliament, Australian Parliament, German Bundestag, French Senate, Swedish Parliament, the United Nations, and the Vatican. He was selected by President George W. Bush’s U.S. President’s Council on Bioethics to write the comprehensive review of adult stem cell research for the Council’s 2004 publication “Monitoring Stem Cell Research.”
Dr. Prentice has published numerous scientific and bioethics articles, including a review of stem cell science and adult stem cell treatments published in Circulation Research. He has also published numerous commentaries and op-eds, and travels nationally and internationally to give invited lectures regarding stem cell research, fetal tissue research, gene editing, cloning, embryology, cell and developmental biology, cell culture and vaccines, bioethics, and public policy. He has been interviewed in virtually all major electronic and print media outlets, including CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, CSPAN, Reuters, AP, NPR, USA Today, BBC, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, and The New York Times.
Research Authored
Improving Maternal Mortality: Comprehensive Reporting for All Pregnancy Outcomes
To demonstrate the impact of inadequate standardization and population coverage on the ability to measure and improve maternal mortality in the United States.
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Backgrounder: We Need a New NIH Director
On April 25, 2017, Charlotte Lozier Institute Vice President and Director of Research, Dr. David A. Prentice, Ph.D., was published in USA Today on the need for a new National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director. The backgrounder below provides summary main points and sources on the position of current NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins in support of human embryonic stem cell research, human cloning, and the creation of ethically-questionable human-animal chimeras.
CLI Vice Pres. Dr. Prentice on Gene-Editing: “Let Congress Know to Take It Slow”
On December 28, 2016, CLI’s Vice President and Research Director, Dr. David Prentice, co-authored an op-ed with Congressman Dr. Michael Burgess (R-Tex.) on the ethical and unethical uses of human gene editing, especially in light of the advent of the CRISPR-Cas System.
CLI Comment on NIH Proposal to Fund Human-Animal Chimeras
The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) has proposed lifting a ban on approval and funding for the creation of human-animal chimeras. A chimera is an organism that contains at least two genetically distinct kinds of DNA.Â
Testimony of Dr. David Prentice in Support of Arizona Bill to Prohibit Fetal Tissue Trafficking
On Wednesday, March 16, 2016, the Arizona House Judiciary Committee panel held a hearing to consider SB 1474, introduced by Sen. Nancy Barto (R-Phoenix) to prohibit fetal tissue trafficking. After the hearing, the panel voted to pass the bill, which will now head to the full House.
CLI Vice Pres. Dr. Prentice on Human Embryo Genetic Manipulation: “Modest but Meaningful Protection”
On December 17, 2015, Townhall published an op-ed by CLI Vice President Dr. David Prentice on the only new pro-life item in the federal Omnibus funding bill. Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.) proposed language to the bill to prevent the approval of the creation or use of genetically-manipulated human embryos in a clinical setting.
Charlotte Lozier Institute’s Legal and Medical Scholars Testify in Support of Ohio’s Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act
This Tuesday, the Ohio House Committee on Community and Family Advancement held a hearing on SB 127, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI) associate scholars Anna Higgins, J.D., an attorney and legal researcher, and Sheila Page, D.O., an osteopathic physician, testified in support of these bills. CLI welcomed both women as recent additions to the associate scholar team in September.
CLI Director of Research David Prentice, Ph.D., Becomes Featured Author for Bioethics Quarterly
The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly is an invaluable resource not only for insights on ethical issues but news about key developments in medicine and technology. This summer NCBQ added a new author to its array of resources, a regular update on Science written by Charlotte Lozier Institute Vice President and Director of Research, David Prentice, Ph.D.
Written Testimony of David A. Prentice, Ph.D. in Support of Wisconsin Bill to Prohibit Sales and Use of Fetal Body Parts from Abortion
On Tuesday, August 11, 2015, the Wisconsin Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety held a public hearing on Assembly Bill 305, which would prohibit certain sales and uses of fetal body parts "from an unborn child aborted from an induced abortion." Charlotte Lozier Institute Vice President and Research Director, Dr. David A. Prentice, Ph.D. submitted the following written testimony in support of AB 305.  In his testimony, Dr. Prentice explains the lack of a scientific or medical need for using fetal tissue or organs in modern research, especially since more effective and ethically-derived alternatives are already being used.