CIRM cuts ten grants

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) linkurl:announced;http://www.cirm.ca.gov/press/pdf/2007/1207007.pdf today that it is eliminating ten grant applications from consideration to avoid breaking its conflict of interest rules regarding grant applications and accompanying letters of support. "CIRM has opted to act conservatively by refraining from considering these applications," the release said, "and the agency will take steps to clarify future requirements for institutiona

| 1 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
1:00
Share
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) linkurl:announced;http://www.cirm.ca.gov/press/pdf/2007/1207007.pdf today that it is eliminating ten grant applications from consideration to avoid breaking its conflict of interest rules regarding grant applications and accompanying letters of support. "CIRM has opted to act conservatively by refraining from considering these applications," the release said, "and the agency will take steps to clarify future requirements for institutional letters of commitment." According to an article in today's __San Francisco Chronicle__, deans at four California universities apparently breached CIRM's conflict of interest rules by submitting letters of support with CIRM grant applications from their respective schools. CIRM did not identify the institutions, which are vying for a cut of $85 million in new faculty awards. This incident follows a previous linkurl:conflict;http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/07/BAOTTQ0JO.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea involving board member and Burnham Institute of Medical Research CEO John Reed. Deans at the University of California, San Francisco, UCLA, the University of Southern California, and the University of California, San Diego are CIRM board members and therefore prohibited from participating in granting activities involving their institutions. The __Chronicle__ article says that "sources close to the grant-making process" have said that grant applications from these four institutions have been flagged for violating CIRM's conflict of interest rules and are in danger of being thrown out. Jesse Reynolds, a policy analyst and CIRM critic, said that conflicts such as these are unsurprising given the fact that the CIRM board is made up of administrators at the very California institutions that are vying for CIRM funding. "The structure of the board, I believe, was a recipe for disaster," he told __The Scientist__.
Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Meet the Author

  • Bob Grant

    From 2017 to 2022, Bob Grant was Editor in Chief of The Scientist, where he started in 2007 as a Staff Writer.
Share
Image of a woman in a microbiology lab whose hair is caught on fire from a Bunsen burner.
April 1, 2025, Issue 1

Bunsen Burners and Bad Hair Days

Lab safety rules dictate that one must tie back long hair. Rosemarie Hansen learned the hard way when an open flame turned her locks into a lesson.

View this Issue
Conceptual image of biochemical laboratory sample preparation showing glassware and chemical formulas in the foreground and a scientist holding a pipette in the background.

Taking the Guesswork Out of Quality Control Standards

sartorius logo
An illustration of PFAS bubbles in front of a blue sky with clouds.

PFAS: The Forever Chemicals

sartorius logo
Unlocking the Unattainable in Gene Construction

Unlocking the Unattainable in Gene Construction

dna-script-primarylogo-digital
Concept illustration of acoustic waves and ripples.

Comparing Analytical Solutions for High-Throughput Drug Discovery

sciex

Products

Green Cooling

Thermo Scientific™ Centrifuges with GreenCool Technology

Thermo Fisher Logo
Singleron Avatar

Singleron Biotechnologies and Hamilton Bonaduz AG Announce the Launch of Tensor to Advance Single Cell Sequencing Automation

Zymo Research Logo

Zymo Research Launches Research Grant to Empower Mapping the RNome

Magid Haddouchi, PhD, CCO

Cytosurge Appoints Magid Haddouchi as Chief Commercial Officer