SALON

Wednesday, Oct 24, 2012 3:01 PM UTC

Answers sought as $3B Texas cancer agency meets

By

Topics: From the Wires,

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas put $3 billion on the table to prove it was serious about fighting cancer, but it will take more than money to convince scientists that’s still the case.

Hundreds of the nation’s top cancer researchers want answers and reassurance this week from the embattled Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, which is reeling after mass resignations and serious internal accusations that have put the nation’s second-biggest pot of cancer research dollars in jeopardy.

The agency’s annual conference begins Wednesday, with nearly 900 scientists and agency stakeholders expected to attend. Among the notables unlikely to show up: nearly three dozen renowned scientists, including a Nobel laureate, who severed ties with CPRIT this month over a controversial award.

Bill Gimson, the executive director of CPRIT since it was founded in 2007, is denying accusations that politics influence funding decisions as the agency hosts what is expected to be its largest annual conference yet. For three days, CPRIT officials will try to repair a once-celebrated image that was hailed as an unprecedented state-level effort to fight cancer.

“Obviously we will address issues that have surfaced,” Gimson said. “I think, more importantly, we will reconfirm our commitment to a gold-standard peer review and picking the very best projects.”

Thirty-three of the agency’s scientific peer reviewers have recently resigned, many in protest. Nobel laureate Dr. Phillip Sharp, who headed the agency’s scientific review council, wrote in a resignation letter this month that the agency is making funding decisions that carry a “suspicion of favoritism” in how the state hands out taxpayer dollars.

Others were more blunt: Dr. William Kaelin of Harvard Medical School, who also served on the council, accused the agency of “hucksterism.”

The backlash stems from a $20 million commercialization grant awarded earlier this year for a so-called incubator project at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. It was among the largest grants in the agency’s young history and was approved without a scientific review, leading the agency’s chief scientific officer to step down.

“If I could do that one grant over again, I would do it differently,” said Gimson, adding that the agency has since examined its review process.

Gimson said the agency is still searching for a new chief scientific officer and doesn’t believe the criticism coming from within the medical community will hamper efforts to replace those who’ve resigned.

Agency officials at this week’s meeting also are scheduled to discuss — but take no formal action on — proposed changes to how the state divvies up grant awards between research, prevention and commercialization efforts to bring new drugs to market. The agency has awarded nearly $700 million in grants since 2009, mostly to fund research.

The keynote speaker Wednesday is Dr. Brian Druker, the celebrated oncologist who developed the groundbreaking cancer drug Gleevec.

The conference runs through Friday.

___

Follow Paul J. Weber on Twitter: www.twitter.com/pauljweber

Paul J. Weber

More Paul J. Weber.

Next Article

You Might Also Like

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

Gripping photos: The people of the Turkey protests (slideshow)

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • The protests take on a festive element as police forces move out of the park and square. Wearing a gas mask, this young man dances to traditional Turkish music in front of Taksim Square’s Ataturk Monument.

  • In Gezi Park since March 31st, this protester, originally caught off-guard by the Government’s teargas and water cannons, went out and bought a Russian army mask from WWII, preparing for what was to come.

  • This rambunctious boy seems to be enjoying the chaos. After taking this picture he threw a stone at the already destroyed building in the background.

  • Forming a line, the police face off directly with protesters in Taksim Square. After a while, they retreated and there was a general cheer – a back-and-forth dance that has been common since the beginning of this protest.

  • An elderly woman in Gezi Park reads the news. The tent community occupying the park was violently destroyed on June 16th.

  • Many different groups had set up booths to promote their cause in Taksim Square and Gezi Park. Standing in front of one, this man waves his flag while posing with conviction.

  • Many home-remedies are used to minimize the effects of tear gas. This woman has put a milky solution on her face, removing her mask after the tear gas dissipated. Before sunrise, the police came again for another round of teargasing.

  • People capitalize on the uprising -- selling flags, beer, gas masks, sky lanterns and spray paint to name just a few of the popular items.

  • On Monday morning, June 11, the police execute a strong offensive. Many plain-clothed police officers, like the ones seen here, clash with protesters in the side streets away from the main stand-off in Taksim.

  • The authorities seem to be most aggressive in the night, pushing protesters away from the square and park. After being teargassed this young woman catches her breath with other protesters on Siraselviler Street.

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

More Related Stories

Comments

 0 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username ( settings | log out )

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: "We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves": Growing up primate

Recommendations