CIRM doesn't want an active scientist president

Written byBob Grant

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Shortly after posting my linkurl:news story;https://www.the-scientist.com/news/home/53480/ on incoming linkurl:California Institute for Regenerative Medicine;https://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/22768/ interim president Richard Murphy, Robert Klein--chairman of CIRM's governing board--told me that a policy regarding candidates for the permanent position has recently been enacted. Klein said that through discussions in June and July, the board confirmed a policy that precluded candidates who wish to maintain active labs during their term as CIRM president. Previously, such candidates were considered for the permanent position. "The most important issue is making certain we're maintaining the highest standard of objective scientific judgment without bias," Klein said. Klein explained that the policy avoids potential conflicts of interest that might arise with a president who also maintains a California-based lab that would be competing for linkurl:CIRM funding;https://www.the-scientist.com/blog/display/52856/ . Additionally, Klein said that the board wants a president who will be able to devote his or her complete attention to the job. "We're looking for this individual to be a leader of stem cell strategy in California, in the nation, and globally," he said. "In order to reach that level of leadership, it's a full-time job."

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Meet the Author

Bob Grant
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From 2017 to 2022, Bob Grant was Editor in Chief of The Scientist, where he started in 2007 as a Staff Writer. Before joining the team, he worked as a reporter at Audubon and earned a master’s degree in science journalism from New York University. In his previous life, he pursued a career in science, getting a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology from Montana State University and a master’s degree in marine biology from the College of Charleston in South Carolina. Bob edited Reading Frames and other sections of the magazine.
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