NATURE NEWS BLOG
Texas cancer agency reveals another grant misstep
The award to Peloton, titled “company recruitment, relocation and formation,” was made in June, 2010, just six months after the company’s founding, without either scientific or commercial review. It was among the first commercial grants made by CPRIT.
The company was founded by Steve McKnight, the chair of biochemistry at the University of Texas (UT) Southwestern in Dallas. It includes on its board of directors Nobel Laureate Michael Brown, the director of UT Southwestern’s Erik Jonsson Center for Research in Molecular Genetics and Human Disease.
CPRIT’s press release yesterday noted that “Peloton was unaware CPRIT processes had not been followed and had played no role in placement of the proposal on the award slate.”
Critics suggested yesterday that the grant is evidence of favoritism by CPRIT to UT Southwestern, which has received many CPRIT grants, and which was the home base of Al Gilman, the Nobel-prizewinning chief scientific officer of CPRIT, who resigned last month in protest over irregular review procedures. Gilman began his job at CPRIT in 2009.
Gilman today protested at the suggestion that he eased the way for the Peloton grant. “I was never sent, and I have not to this day ever seen, the proposal that Peloton sent to CPRIT. The research side of CPRIT had nothing to do with [commercial] review. “
No comments:
Post a Comment