Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Billion-dollar debt booster nabs stem cell spot

Taxpayers in hock for $5.5 billion for institute with long history of interest conflicts

Since Prop 14's victory, Goldstein has been fighting back against his critics.
Since Prop 14's victory, Goldstein has been fighting back against his critics.

During fall's ballot battle for Proposition 14 furnishing another $5.5 billion in state bond funding to keep the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine afloat, it seemed to many like UC San Diego Health neuroscientist Larry Goldstein was on the campaign trail full time.

"Not only have a number of therapies been developed and proven to be useful, but we have numerous experimental therapies in progress," Goldstein, who had gotten $21 million in research funding from the institute, told San Diego public TV station KPBS in October.

Opponent Jeff Sheehy, a member of the institute’s board since its founding in 2004 with the first round of voter-approved debt provided by that year's Proposition 71, begged to differ.

"We've moved good research forward. We've done good work. So, I don't think the question is whether the work is good or not. The question is, did we ever talk about CIRM being something that would be funded forever with debt? And we did not. It was supposed to pay for itself, and it hasn't, and it needs to come back."

Sheehy isn't the only former insider to voice doubts about the controversial funding renewal, which was so narrowly passed by California voters that victory wasn't confirmed by the Associated Press until November 12, nine days after the election.

Sponsored
Sponsored

"Unfortunately, Proposition 14 sets a bad example for the use of public money for the advancement of science," neurobiologist Zach Hall, the institute's president from 2005 to 2007, told Nature following the election.

"As scientists, everybody always welcomes additional funding," Arlene Chiu, the institute's ex-director of scientific activities, added. "But as a Californian, one wonders if there are better ways to do this."

Since Prop 14's victory, Goldstein has been fighting back against his critics, writing in a January 15 editorial published by the journal Science, "The lives of many patients have improved because of CIRM. Notably, many CIRM-funded clinical trials rely on human embryonic or fetal stem cells, whereas the federal government currently does not fund any clinical trials using these types of cells."

But criticism, centered on conflicts of interest created by the stem cell institute's practice of giving away millions of dollars to institutions with affiliated board members, has continued.

"There were too many cases in which the ethics were strained to the limit," Jeanne Loring, a Scripps Research geneticist who has gotten $22 million for research from the institute, told Nature.

Last week Goldstein himself gained a seat on the stem cell institute's board, ending a 16-year history of absenting direct funding recipients as members, per Capitol Weekly.

"CIRM has accepted a board member who has personally received some $22 million in CIRM grants, and whose institution has received far more, Marcia Darnovsky, executive director of the Center for Genetics and Society in Berkeley, told the California Stem Cell Report.

"Proposition 14, which just last fall gave CIRM another $5.5 billion of public funding, should have been a chance for the agency to turn over a new leaf, but it made none of the changes that could have addressed the agency's built-in conflicts or other structural problems.

"Now it appears that CIRM will continue to flout basic principles of good governance, despite being a public agency wholly funded by public dollars. This is a real and ongoing problem."

Noted the California Stem Cell Report in a January 11 account: "Goldstein is barred by CIRM rules from applying for grants. The agency said yesterday that Goldstein has stepped away from his research with the exception of one project."

Critics, however, continue to point to Goldstein's new board role as an example of the institute's ongoing conflict of interest dilemma, as cited by the Institute of Medicine in a 2012 analysis commissioned by the institute.

"Far too many board members represent organizations that receive CIRM funding or benefit from that funding. These competing personal and professional interests compromise the perceived independence of (the CIRM governing board), introduce potential bias into the board's decision making, and threaten to undermine confidence in the board."

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

India Hawthorne is common in coastal gardens, Citrus trees are in full bloom

The vernal equinox is on March 19
Since Prop 14's victory, Goldstein has been fighting back against his critics.
Since Prop 14's victory, Goldstein has been fighting back against his critics.

During fall's ballot battle for Proposition 14 furnishing another $5.5 billion in state bond funding to keep the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine afloat, it seemed to many like UC San Diego Health neuroscientist Larry Goldstein was on the campaign trail full time.

"Not only have a number of therapies been developed and proven to be useful, but we have numerous experimental therapies in progress," Goldstein, who had gotten $21 million in research funding from the institute, told San Diego public TV station KPBS in October.

Opponent Jeff Sheehy, a member of the institute’s board since its founding in 2004 with the first round of voter-approved debt provided by that year's Proposition 71, begged to differ.

"We've moved good research forward. We've done good work. So, I don't think the question is whether the work is good or not. The question is, did we ever talk about CIRM being something that would be funded forever with debt? And we did not. It was supposed to pay for itself, and it hasn't, and it needs to come back."

Sheehy isn't the only former insider to voice doubts about the controversial funding renewal, which was so narrowly passed by California voters that victory wasn't confirmed by the Associated Press until November 12, nine days after the election.

Sponsored
Sponsored

"Unfortunately, Proposition 14 sets a bad example for the use of public money for the advancement of science," neurobiologist Zach Hall, the institute's president from 2005 to 2007, told Nature following the election.

"As scientists, everybody always welcomes additional funding," Arlene Chiu, the institute's ex-director of scientific activities, added. "But as a Californian, one wonders if there are better ways to do this."

Since Prop 14's victory, Goldstein has been fighting back against his critics, writing in a January 15 editorial published by the journal Science, "The lives of many patients have improved because of CIRM. Notably, many CIRM-funded clinical trials rely on human embryonic or fetal stem cells, whereas the federal government currently does not fund any clinical trials using these types of cells."

But criticism, centered on conflicts of interest created by the stem cell institute's practice of giving away millions of dollars to institutions with affiliated board members, has continued.

"There were too many cases in which the ethics were strained to the limit," Jeanne Loring, a Scripps Research geneticist who has gotten $22 million for research from the institute, told Nature.

Last week Goldstein himself gained a seat on the stem cell institute's board, ending a 16-year history of absenting direct funding recipients as members, per Capitol Weekly.

"CIRM has accepted a board member who has personally received some $22 million in CIRM grants, and whose institution has received far more, Marcia Darnovsky, executive director of the Center for Genetics and Society in Berkeley, told the California Stem Cell Report.

"Proposition 14, which just last fall gave CIRM another $5.5 billion of public funding, should have been a chance for the agency to turn over a new leaf, but it made none of the changes that could have addressed the agency's built-in conflicts or other structural problems.

"Now it appears that CIRM will continue to flout basic principles of good governance, despite being a public agency wholly funded by public dollars. This is a real and ongoing problem."

Noted the California Stem Cell Report in a January 11 account: "Goldstein is barred by CIRM rules from applying for grants. The agency said yesterday that Goldstein has stepped away from his research with the exception of one project."

Critics, however, continue to point to Goldstein's new board role as an example of the institute's ongoing conflict of interest dilemma, as cited by the Institute of Medicine in a 2012 analysis commissioned by the institute.

"Far too many board members represent organizations that receive CIRM funding or benefit from that funding. These competing personal and professional interests compromise the perceived independence of (the CIRM governing board), introduce potential bias into the board's decision making, and threaten to undermine confidence in the board."

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Gilbert Castellanos, Buddha Trixie, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Shane Hall, Brian Jones Rock ‘N’ Roll Revival

Grand Socials, gigs, and record releases in Del Mar, City Heights, Solana Beach, Little Italy, and Ocean Beach
Next Article

Tiny Home Central isn’t solving the San Diego housing crisis

But it does hope to help fill in the gaps
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.