Trounson Statement

The California stem cell agency released the following statement from its new permanent President, Alan Trounson.

Vision Statement for Relationship Between CIRM President and the Governing Board (ICOC)

Alan Trounson

The art of delivery of new developments in science and medicine, in my experience, has been dependent on creating partnerships with others with expertise in a different discipline. A shared vision then provides for a working relationship where the partners invest their expertise in achieving the potential outcome.

Historical Partnerships in Delivery of New Developments

There are many historical examples of productive partnerships, and in my case the key models include:

1.In vitro fertilization and associated technologies Trounson (scientist) and Dr. Carl Wood (clinician). Wood was a man of extraordinary vision and lateral thinking who provided the clinical platform for the embryology developed in basic research by Trounson and colleagues. There are now >4 million IVF children in the world as a consequence of this partnership and others.

2. The Institute of Reproduction and Development (IRD) Trounson (female reproduction and development – Deputy Director) and Dr. David de Kretser (male infertility expert – Director) came together as a partnership to develop a new Institute of Reproduction and Development at Monash University by fusing their research groups – Centre for Early Human Development (Trounson) and Andrology research group (de Kretser) in 1990. The IRD was the first research only institute at Monash University and rose quickly to international prominence as the world leading research institute in human reproduction, with more than 350 scientists by 2001. de Kretser was appointed Governor of Victoria in 2006 and Trounson left to establish the National (Australian) Stem Cell Centre in 2002.

3.The Australian Stem Cell Centre (ASCC) Trounson (scientist), Robert Moses (biotechnology business) and Dianna DeVore (patent attorney and molecular geneticist) joined in a partnership to win the Australian Biotechnology Centre of Excellence from all other disciplines in biotechnology. The ASCC was initiated with a grant of A$54 million for 3 years, followed by another tranche of A$54 million to carry through to 2011. Moses was made foundation Chairman of the Board, Trounson CEO and DeVore COO.

4. Embryonic Stem Cells Trounson (embryologist) and Martin Pera (embryonal carcinoma specialist from Oxford) joined together in a partnership at the IRD to develop human embryonic stem cells. They were successful, producing these cells in the late 1990s and led the new science of directing differentiation of these extremely interesting cells into the neuronal and other lineages.

5. Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratories Trounson (stem cell biologist - Director) and Richard Boyd (thymic immunologist – Deputy Director) joined together to form a new research centre at Monash University – Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratories. The two disciplines of stem cells and immunology created a unique focus for the delivery of stem cell technologies. Regulating the immune system is critical for delivery of allogenic cell therapies, and embryonic stem cells are being developed to reprogram tolerance and autoimmunity for transplantation and regenerative medicine.

Prospective Partnership Between Governing Board (ICOC) and the President of the CIRM

Partnership with the ICOC offers a unique mechanism for integrating key stakeholders from academic research, industry and advocacy in the discovery and development processes as we move toward therapies. The initiative (Prop 71) creates a participatory partnership between the leadership of the President of the CIRM and the governing board; the board represents a high-value spectrum of knowledge in medical research, patient advocacy and biotech experience that the President can draw upon in advancing the mission.

Klein, the visionary financier and designer of innovative systems, Chair of the governing board, and Trounson will form a partnership to deliver the incredible opportunity of cell therapies for regenerative medicine. Together they have the financial, political and scientific capacity to take the well prepared CIRM strategy to the desired outcomes in the clinic efficiently and effectively. The partnership provides the further opportunity to engage nationally and internationally with other leading groups in stem cell science to avoid duplication of effort and to hasten clinical applications.

Alan Trounson Named President of CIRM

California's $3 billion stem cell institute has found a new president, eminent Australian scientist Alan Trounson who is giving up his research to immigrate to California and oversee the world's largest single source of funding for embryonic stem cell research.

Reporter Sabin Russell of the San Francisco Chronicle quoted George Daley, president of the International Society for Stem Cell Research, as saying,

"It's a surprise move to have someone of his prominence in this role. This is a recognition of the incredible impact the California initiative has had. He's voting with his feet."

California stem cell chairman Robert Klein, who headed the presidential search, was obviously pleased by the move. He cited Trounson's "global vision."

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine had been operating on lame duck status since last December, when former President Zach Hall announced he was going to retire. Early in August, the CIRM Oversight Committee named Richard Murphy, former president of the Salk Institute, as interim president.

Media reports indicated that Trounson hoped to begin work in San Francisco by the end of the year, but has not worked out all the visa requirements. Trounson will be paid either $490,000 or $475,000 annually depending on whether the state picks up his moving expenses. The salary is a substantial increase over the previous cap of $412,500 on the president's salary. Trounson is also giving up any investments in stem cell companies. Mary Engel of the Los Angeles Times said he will be able to work part-time on a pro-rated salary for up to six months as he closes his laboratory.

Reporter Terri Somers of the San Diego Union-Tribune wrote that the appointment is "viewed as a coup for California's ground-breaking institute because of his research resume, his entrepreneurial and management abilities and his experience navigating Australia's rocky political climate on human embryonic stem cell research."

Somers continued:

"'I have great respect for Alan as a scientific colleague and a deeply ethical and moral individual who will provide great leadership to the CIRM in coming years,' said Larry Goldstein, an embryonic stem cell researcher at the University of California San Diego who has collaborated with Trounson."

The Los Angeles Times' Engel quoted John Simpson of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumers Right as saying, "This is an excellent move. I am wonderfully impressed and completely surprised."

Somers also reported:

"As well as founding the Australian Stem Cell Centre at Monash University in 2003, Trounson has founded or co-founded eight companies. Among those companies is globally recognized Embryonic Stem Cells International in Singapore.
"Started in 2000 with angel investor money and investment from Singapore's research-loving government, Embryonic Stem Cells International holds the commercial rights and intellectual property to the initial six embryonic stem cell lines developed by the founders, who include Ariff Bongso, a Singapore IVF specialist considered to be a pioneer in deriving stem cells from human embryos."

Trounson told the Sydney Morning Herald:

"It's obviously a tremendous personal opportunity and honour, but it is also a sign of the high regard in which Australian research organisations and scientists are held internationally in stem cell research.

"This is a research field in which our achievements are world class - I see myself as an ambassador for all Australian medical researchers."

Trounson surfaced in American media earlier this year in support of challenges to stem cell patents held by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Organization.

The Los Angeles Times also reported:

"Trounson's career has not been free of controversy. He was criticized in 2002 after showing Australian legislators -- who were voting to legalize embryonic stem cell research -- a video of a rat that he said had been cured of paralysis using embryonic stem cells. It turned out that the rat had been given slightly older cells called foetal germ cells.

"Trounson said Friday that he had apologized to the parliament and learned "a very valuable lesson about ensuring precision in what you say to people."

Here are links to stories on the Trounson appointment. CIRM has not yet posted a news release. San Diego Union-Tribune, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News , The Sydney Morning Telegraph, The Associated Press, Cellnews.

CIRM CEO Search: The Burden of Being in the Vanguard

The article spoke of the "strange beast," the nexus of forces and an organization like no other. But topic No. 1 was the ongoing search for a new permanent president for the California stem cell agency.

Monya Baker, news editor for Nature Reports Stem Cell, explored the effort in a piece that appeared online.

She began by describing CIRM as a "strange beast" and quoted one observer as likening it to a two-headed monster. Here are some excerpts from Baker's article.

"Many people are watching CIRM, says Mary Woolley, head of Research!America, a health-research advocacy group in Virginia. With other investments in research flat, the institute is 'in a vanguard,', she says. 'It's really important for CIRM to get it right....

"'Failed searches happen all the time,' she says. Without a clear consensus about what they are looking for, she continues, a board could go through a search three or four times, each ending in disappointment."

Baker continued:

"Board member Jeff Sheehy, an AIDS patient advocate, thinks experts with an industry background might be most adept at transforming research into therapies. 'My pill bottles don't say UCSF,' he explains. 'Someone from the foundation world or the business community might be an interesting choice.'"

Baker quoted Hamilton Moses, a biomedical consultant in Virginia who focuses on non-profit governance.

"'CIRM operates at the nexus of the Political (with a capital P), scientific, institutional, and business forces of an aggressive state that views economic development as a priority.' Its organization, he adds, doesn't help. 'Noah's Ark' boards, where each member is appointed to represent a constituency, rarely work.'"

Baker continued:

"'This is mainly a skilled management job, requiring wisdom, scientific expertise, and a good list of known contacts to go to for advice and help, but not necessarily a background in medicine or stem cells,' says Bruce Alberts at the University of California, San Francisco, who served two six-year terms as president of the US National Academy of Sciences. Management jobs require many tasks that scientists find boring, adds (Tom) Cech, (president of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute). Only someone with tremendous skills at working with diverse groups of people could thrive in this job."

She quoted California stem cell chairman Robert Klein as saying that none of the presidential candidates has cited the board's or his own role as an obstacle.

Baker also interviewed interim CIRM President Richard Murphy, who said that CIRM's governance structure is sound.

"...(T)he diversity of the board is an asset, he says; basic scientists who value 'curiosity-driven research' and patient advocates intent on clinical progress have much to teach each other. The trick, he says, is establishing mechanisms so groups work together. '''I bring that experience, an understanding of how the board can interact effectively with the institution.'"

She pointed out that the Salk Institute, which Murphy left in July, had four presidents in four years before he joined the organization in 2000.

Baker's final paragraph:

"But if there is one thing people agree on, it is that CIRM is an organization like no other. 'CIRM represents an experiment,' says Moses. 'It is too soon to know whether it will be successful.'"

Director Says CIRM "More Effective" Than Other State Agencies

One of the directors of the California stem cell agency, David Serrano Sewell, has responded to comments critical of the agency in an Internet piece headlined "California's stem-cell management disarray."

Written by David Hamilton, the article said CIRM "is probably one of the most grueling places to work in all of biomedicine." He noted the departure of several top staffers at the agency this year.

Sewell, who is a member of the CIRM Oversight Committee, responded directly with an online comment on Hamilton's Venture Beat piece. Sewell said in part,

"I challenge you to find a state agency that has been more effective. Those grants don’t just happen, it takes hard work and lots of meetings. And, we’ve been transparent throughout the entire process. Thus, the system envisioned by Prop 71 works. I can appreciate that it’s your job to read the tea leaves and make some half baked spin, but you’re just wrong here."

Hamilton responded in part,

"I intended no denigration of the ICOC membership, but it’s a bureaucratic fact that when you have a 26-headed hydra trying to run a public agency, whoever controls the agenda and many if not most staff resources effectively directs the body’s effort — and that’s more or less what (California stem cell chairman) Bob (Klein) does."

You can read the entire exchange, including the original article, here. Scroll down to the bottom to find the comments.

Fresh Bustling in CIRM Presidential Search

The search for a new and permanent chief executive officer to direct the world's largest single source of funding for human embryonic stem cell research is generating a flurry of activity this month.

Robert Klein, chairman of the Oversight Committee for CIRM, scheduled a special teleconference meeting Sept. 14 of the full Oversight Committee at 3 p.m. and a meeting of the presidential search committee at 5 p.m. Another meeting of the search committee is scheduled for Sept. 28. (You can find the agendas and teleconference locations here.)

Topics on the agenda include compensation. Despite a salary range for the position that reaches $412,500 annually, the amount does not appear enough. The cost of housing in the San Francisco area appears to be one of the reasons. Other issues as well seem to be raising difficulties in finding a new president. (Search on the label "presidential search" to see full details.)

Similar rounds of meetings, which are conducted almost entirely behind closed doors, have occurred in the past with no result. The $3 billion agency has been operating on a lame-duck status for nine months since the former president, Zach Hall, announced his plans to retire.

Early in August, the Oversight Committee hired Richard Murphy, former head of the Salk Institute, to serve as interim president for six months.

Klein Speaks Out on Presidential Search

California stem cell chairman Robert Klein today defended the conduct of the search for a permanent president of his agency, declaring that there is "great interest" in the opportunity to head the $3 billion enterprise.

In an op-ed piece in The Sacramento Bee, Klein responded to a Bee editorial Aug. 12 that summarized issues complicating CIRM's presidential search, which we have written about on this blog and for Wired.com. The institute has operated in a lame-duck management status since early last December. Some CIRM Oversight Committee members worried as early as last January about the negative impact of a lengthy search.

Klein wrote:

"The CIRM governing board is committed to recruiting a new president who can provide the global strategic leadership this position requires. Academic searches for comparable positions traditionally take 12 to 18 months. Our recruitment effort has a more aggressive schedule; but as I stated in an interview with The Scientist, recruiting a great scientist with a proven record in directing and managing major ongoing research involves finding medical scientists who can take over existing grants, assume the responsibility of mentoring graduate students and post-doctorate students in the labs, and assume the institutional management responsibilities for leading the stem cell efforts of a major university or research facility."

That statement seems to indicate that the board is currently committed to finding an active scientist with a major research portfolio that he or she would have to give up to become president of CIRM. It also seems to mean that the board is not actively pursuing candidates who would be top notch administrators but have a lesser scientific pedigree.

Chris Scott: Rocky Road Ahead for CIRM

A onetime candidate for the presidency of the California stem cell agency today outlined his views of the challenges facing the agency in the next 12 months or so. They include the "K-factor," the politics of the CIRM Oversight Committee and micromanagement.

Christopher Scott, head of the Stem Cells in Society Program at Stanford, said, among other things, in an op-ed piece in The Sacramento Bee:

"The institute must quickly find a replacement for (its No. 1 scientist, Arlene) Chiu and double its staff; put in place efficient mechanisms for research and ethical oversight; generate new rounds of proposals, renewals and reviews."

The Bee noted that Scott had been a candidate earlier for the permanent presidency of the institute but said he is not a candidate currently.

Scott wrote that Richard Murphy, the new interim presidency of CIRM "should demand more control over the institute's budget line items and governance decisions while listening to the strong personalities on the citizens committee and in Sacramento."

Scott said:

"The Red Cross collapsed under the weight of its hydra-headed board; the difficult issues centered on control and the dysfunction of consensus management. CIRM faces some of the same problems. Paying attention to the needs of the major players and being flexible to alternate views will help him balance control."

Scott continued, hitting various topics:

"The K-Factor. Robert Klein(chairman of the Oversight Committee) is a blue-chip entrepreneur, passionate advocate and hero to many. His forceful personality and charisma made the institute what it is, but these qualities may not be suited for efficiently executing its mission. Though Klein has said he will step down in 2008, some founding entrepreneurs mistime their exit. Murphy will have to deftly manage Klein's freewheeling ways, leveraging his strengths while covering his weaknesses. Checking the ego at the door will help."

Scott wrote,

"Secession. Any executive who has worked in a startup knows six months will pass in an instant. A permanent president must be found, one who can handle the political challenges while tending to the small stuff, the decidedly unsexy but essential routine of ramping up and running a large research granting agency."

He concluded:

"CIRM's second phase is more important than the first. California voters put their money on the line for a vision of science and medicine. Now comes the hard part. The institute must execute the plan, bringing new knowledge, discoveries and therapies to California."

Grueling Work, CIRM and Burger King

Is the $3 billion California stem cell agency a Rube Goldberg-like contraption deliberately designed to function on a shoestring?

Reporter David Hamilton of Venture Beat says yes. Hamilton, who once covered biotech for the Wall Street Journal, today wrote about the state of the CIRM in the wake of the departure of its No. 1 scientist.

“…(I)t seems safe to say that the stem-cell agency is probably one of the most grueling places to work in all of biomedicine. Structually, CIRM is a Rube Goldberg-inspired contraption in which a panel of 26 appointed academic luminaries, business types and patient advocates oversees a professional staff of no more than 50. The powerful oversight committee chairman, Robert Klein II, essentially runs the show, which undoubtedly complicates the job of finding a prominent biologist — not usually the shyest and most self-effacing people around — willing to give up their laboratory in order to butt heads with Klein over the institute’s management and direction.

“What’s more, CIRM itself was deliberately designed to function on a shoestring. That hard cap of 50 staffers was initially intended to reassure California voters that the agency wouldn’t waste taxpayer money on a hiring binge, and in that sense, it’s clearly worked. On the other hand, add the fact that the agency hasn’t even come close to filling all 50 positions to the string of departures, and it begins to look a lot like the institute is paying the price by burning through its human resources at an accelerated rate.”

We should add that as of a couple a weeks ago, CIRM had 26 employees, perhaps the equivalent of the staff needed for a 24-hour Burger King. CIRM´s board of directors numbers 29.

CIRM Challenges Report on Chiu

The California stem cell agency has responded to our item on Monday dealing with the implications of the departure of its No. 1 scientist, Arlene Chiu. Dale Carlson, chief communications officer for the institute, cited the following sentence from the post:

"While it would be incorrect to say that all CIRM staff departures this
year are related to the presidential situation..."

Carlson then said,

"In fact, it wouldn't be correct to say that ANY of the staff departures were related to the presidential situation, nor to each other. Each of these folks left or is leaving for individual reasons. The timing is coincidental and nothing more should be read into them.

"Contrary to Mr. Simpson's speculation, Dr. Chiu's desire to return to Southern California and pursue other interests is exactly as stated. She would not be staying longer if the presidential vacancy did not exist."

Stem Cell Snippets: McGee, Lansing, Prinz

Pricing Stem Cell Cures – The California stem cell agency is still wrestling with anticipated prices of stem cell therapies. Not directly, mind you. It comes under the topic of intellectual property. Glenn McGee, director of the Alden March Bioethics Institute, wrote recently about a drug pricing issue that could resonate in the future – if not currently -- with CIRM. The issue involves Merck and its cervical cancer drug, Gardasil, which he said is priced out of the reach of millions of women. McGee cited a report that Merck has spent $48 million in the last 10 years on lobbying. He wrote:

"If the company can afford to spend huge amounts convincing legislators the vaccine is something every woman deserves, it can afford to take its own advice, and reduce the price."

Variations of McGee's argument are certain to surface in the future involving stem cell cures. Plus they will be freighted with heated rhetoric about how those cures owe their very existence to funds provided by California taxpayers. Something for the good burghers on CIRM Oversight Committee to consider.

Another Presidential Search – Sherry Lansing, a member of the Oversight Committee for the California stem cell agency, has added more to her plate. She will serve as vice chair of the search committee to find a new president for the University of California. As a CIRM director, she is already involved in the search for a new president for CIRM in addition to her other many philanthropic activities. Incidentally, the current UC president earns $405,000 annually, which is apparently not enough to attract a CIRM president. However, the UC position has other benefits, but may or may not involve less aggravation than the CIRM post.

Prisons vs. Stem Cell Research -- California attorney Kristie Prinz wants to know. Writing on her California Biotech Law Blog, she raises a fundamental question about the $3 billion California stem cell agency,

"One cannot help but wonder if the money couldn't have been better spent elsewhere, even if you are a supporter of the biotech industry and of the concept of the research generally. Our schools, health care, keeping drugs off the street, illegal immigration, crime, overcrowded prisons, and terrorism are just some of the many issues facing this state that could have also been better funded with the same money. Did we as taxpayers make a good decision when we voted to use the funds instead on stem cell research? It's a thought-provoking question that all Californians should consider."

More Analysis on the Chiu Resignation

The following came in today from Christopher Thomas Scott, head of the Stem Cells in Society Program at Stanford, concerning the departure of Arlene Chiu(see item below). He makes the very good point that, compared to the NIH, CIRM is working with quite lean staff resources.

Here are Scott's comments:

"The other shoe dropped at CIRM. Arlene Chiu, the top executive responsible for the nuts and bolts of the organization, resigned. Her manifold responsibilities included the tough work of writing and disseminating the agency's request for proposals, scheduling and running a time consuming and complicated scientific review process, overseeing the awards, managing staff, and most recently, filling a leadership vacuum left by the departure of former president Zach Hall. For those of us familiar with the research grants business, we know Dr. Chiu as a tireless and enthusiastic science professional, and understood how she kept CIRM on its feet. She did much of this working with less staff than stipulated by the operating budget. Even at full strength, the numbers of professionals in her group would be far fewer than a comparable agency of the NIH, where she and Hall had made their professional careers. There, the institutes have the benefit of massive federal support. Here, Hall and Chiu, along with a skeleton crew, had to manage the launch of an organization while fighting lawsuits, scrabbling for money, and dancing through political hoops. While the reasons for Dr. Chiu's departure are known only to her, its likely she's tired of the long hours, the pressures of running a research enterprise on thin margins and the purgatory caused by an unsuccessful presidential search.

"Interim president Richard Murphy, on the state rolls for only 180 days, has a doubly difficult task in front of him. He must find a replacement for his top scientist and one for himself. And, the award money must reach the California labs, which have begun to ramp up the experiments that will bring new knowledge and hopefully, new therapies to Californians. Any executive who has been in a start up knows that six months will pass in an instant. More importantly, it is just as hard, perhaps harder, to execute a vision as ambitious as this than to have it in the first place."

CIRM Loses its No. 1 Scientist

The top scientist at the California stem cell agency, Arlene Chiu, will soon depart in a move that reinforces the importance of maintaining the organization's stability and finding a new, permanent president.

CIRM has been in a lame-duck mode since last December when former President Zach Hall announced that he planned to leave. John M. Simpson, stem cell project director for the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumers Rights, said Chiu's resignation "underscores the importance" of finding a permanent president.

Simpson said the failure to have a new, permanent CEO in place represents "a substantial failure of leadership first and foremost on the part of board Chairman Bob Klein and to a lesser extent on the part of all board members."

Earlier this month, the CIRM Oversight Committee installed Richard Murphy, former president of the Salk Institute, as interim president for at least six months as it continues to seek a permanent replacement for Hall.

CIRM is still a young organization (less than three years old) with a small staff (26 persons)that has seen other significant departures relatively recently. They include Kirk Kleinschmidt, director of legislative relations; Mary Maxon, the lead staff person on intellectural property, Scott Tocher, associate general counsel; and scientific officer Ruth Globus. While it would be incorrect to say that all CIRM staff departures this year are related to the presidential situation, voids in permanent leadership create uncertainties and instability. Departures for unrelated reasons can take on a life of their own, triggering others to consider making job changes. Couple that with the regularly long hours that CIRM staffers put in, and you have the potential for more losses.

In several ways, the press release on Chiu's departure acknowledged those concerns. Indeed, the headline on the release did not even say she was resigning. Carefully crafted to stress continuity and stability, it noted that she will continue through the end of October on a fulltime basis and after that as a consultant on some of CIRM's important efforts. Chiu as well issued a statement emphasizing the progress at CIRM and the credentials of interim President Murphy.

On a personal note, Chiu is one of the first persons that we met at CIRM. Her diligence, integrity and dedication have always impressed us. And as one of the earliest regular staff members, she set a tone and example that was important in establishing a healthy organizational culture at the new enterprise.

She was recruited by Hall, who issued the following statement, which is not currently available on the CIRM Web site:

"Persuading Dr. Arlene Chiu to come to CIRM from NIH was one of the most important accomplishments of my presidency. As the senior CIRM scientist during its first three years - a time of constrained resources, Arlene recruited, mentored and led the scientific team responsible for awarding the first $200 M in grants for stem cell research in California - a remarkable legacy. She has a deep understanding of stem cell research, expert knowledge of grants administration, and extraordinary personal qualities of integrity, grace and a passion for the mission of CIRM. Arlene has left her mark on the DNA of CIRM. She will be hard to replace."

Murphy and Klein also issued statements which can be found in the CIRM press release. Chiu's statement can also be found in the press release.

Here is the complete statement from Simpson:

"Dr. Chiu is one of the all-too-often unsung heroes of CIRM, regularly going beyond the call of duty to ensure scientific excellence in the agency's efforts. She has built an excellent scientific staff that should be able to carry on in her absence.

"We agreed to disagree on some things, like the amount of transparency and openness that belongs in the peer review process; but I have tremendous respect for her and her contributions.

"I believe Dr. Chiu's departure underscores the importance of the oversight committee performing its single most important task: hiring a president and chief executive.

"Had the committee done so in a timely way, I believe Dr. Chiu would still be at CIRM. Given the situation, the selection of Richard Murphy as interim president is a necessary stopgap to hold the agency together.

"But the failure to hire a permanent president, given Zach Hall's announcement of his plans last December, is a substantial failure of leadership first and foremost on the part of board Chairman Bob Klein and too a lesser extent on the part of all board members."

News coverage of Chiu's resignation was light. Here are links to the stories we saw: Jim Downing of The Sacramento Bee, Kristen Philipkoski, Wired.com, Sacramento Business Journal (the same story appeared in other Business Journals), and the Associated Press.

Bee Editorializes on CIRM Presidential Search

The Sacramento Bee editorialized this morning on the search for a permanent president of the California stem cell agency, wondering whether obstacles exist that make recruitment difficult.

The editorial pointed out problems with compensation. It noted the structural issues in the management structure along with the role of California stem cell Chairman Robert Klein. And it said interim president Richard Murphy has taken steps to ease concerns about possible conflicts of interest. The final paragraph of the editorial also said:

"In fact, it's quite possible that Murphy could help the institute fashion a management structure in line with that of other prestigious research institutions. Earlier this year, Murphy described the institute's executive structure as a 'dog's breakfast' -- in other words, 'a mess.' For six months, he'll be boss of the kitchen. Bon appetit."

CIRM Presidential Search: Looking for the Right Phenotype

Is there too much "reflection" in the search for a permanent president of the $3 billion California stem cell agency, which has been operating on a lame-duck-CEO basis since December?

At least one member of the agency's 29-member Oversight Committee thinks so. Jeff Sheehy told The Scientist that the board is focusing excessively on persons with strong scientific backgrounds and not enough on good managers.

Writer Bob Grant quoted Sheehy as saying,

"I feel like we have a lot of deans of medical schools on our board, and they keep looking in the mirror. I'm not sure that's the phenotype that we need in this job."

Grant continued:

"Sheehy added that Murphy's appointment only delays the institute's need to seriously consider this identity issue. 'In a way he's a band-aid on a deeper problem we have,' said Sheehy, 'which is not coming to terms with what the job is. I think we keep punting on this issue.'"

The main focus of Grant's piece was the appointment of Richard Murphy, former head of the Salk Institute in the San Diego area, as interim president. Murphy was quoted as saying,

"My job as president is going to be, first and foremost, to make sure the operation of CIRM is efficient and effective."

Murphy added,

"I don't think that the role of the president is to evaluate science."

Grant noted Murphy will not take part in decisions affecting San Diego institutions. Grant also wrote:

"Evan Snyder, stem cell program director at San Diego's Burnham Institute for Medical Research, told The Scientist that though Murphy has recused himself from making direct funding decisions when San Diego institutions are involved, he will be valuable to the community because of his intimate knowledge of science in the area. 'He has an appreciation for what's going on in San Diego, and I know that will be a great benefit to us,' Snyder said. The Burnham Institute has already received almost $13.5 million in CIRM money."

In a separate addition to the story, Grant quoted California stem cell Chairman Robert Klein as making it clear that it was not seeking candidates for the permanent position who want to maintain active labs. That was a stumbling block in the previous presidential search.

Still More On Murphy

The online version of the Wall Street Journal today carried a brief item on the appointment of Richard Murphy as interim CIRM president. If you can't find it here because of paid registration, send an email to djensen@californiastemcellreport.com, and we will forward it to you.

John M. Simpson of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumers Rights released a formal statement on Murphy. Here is the text.

"I am concerned that the search has taken so long and don't believe that the board began serious search efforts rapidly enough when Zach Hall announced his retirement plans. Given the unfortunate need for an interim president, I think Richard Murphy will make a good leader.

"At the stem cell board meeting I raised questions about his membership on the board of the California Healthcare Institute, a lobbying group for the biomedical industry.

"I was relieved to learn that Murphy had left that board when he retired from the Salk Institute, although I don't think he should have been a member while on the stem cell board.

"He has been a sensible and steady influence on the stem cell agency's board, and I hope and expect he'll make a a significant contribution to the agency. In my role as constructive critic, it's my job to hold his feet to the fire when necessary and ensure that he does so."

Murphy Talks About His New Role

The new interim president of the California stem cell agency says he has no intention of being a placeholder until a permanent president is found, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Reporter Terri Somers interviewed Murphy following his appointment. He said,

"I want to be hands-on. That is part of the attraction for me and part of what (the institute) needs right now."

Murphy said,

"I think it's an exciting time for the (institute), with application requests ready to be issued for large facilities and applications for new investigators grants going out,” he said. “And now there's also discussion about a new (request for applications) for disease-oriented research groups, which I think is a great way of kick-starting disease-oriented research related to stem cells."

Here is more from Somers' story about the sometimes ticklish relationship between California stem cell Chairman Robert Klein and CIRM's former president, Zach Hall:

"'I think Bob and Zach are very talented people. . . . (The institute) did very well in a very short time period,' Murphy said. 'I think Klein is a genius. The guy created Proposition 71 out of nothing and worked very diligently to put (the institute) on the map in a short period of time despite having a lot of hurdles to get over. I look forward to learning a lot from Bob.'"

"Meanwhile, he said, he expects to continue the very open relationship that he had as a board member serving with Klein.

"Murphy does not think Klein's active role at the institute is causing the president search to drag on. In fact, he and others involved in academia said it is not uncommon for recruitment and hiring for such a position to take a year. Nor do they think money or the high cost of housing is an issue, with the salary range set around $500,000(note: the salary currently is capped at $412,500)."

Somers reported that Murphy said "he has no interest in the job long term, although he had been approached several months ago to apply for the permanent position."

In other coverage, Andrew Pollack of the New York Times wrote a brief story on the appointment that also mentioned the California Stem Cell Report reporting on the presidential search.

More On Richard Murphy and His Role at CIRM

As promised, here is more on the appointment of former Salk Institute President Richard Murphy as the interim president of the California stem cell agency.

Murphy was voted on following a 2.5-hour lunch/executive personnel session, which Oversight Committee Chairman Robert Klein originally predicted would last one hour. Only one no vote was heard during the voice vote following the executive session. That was from Jeff Sheehy. We did not have a chance to catch up with him following the meeting, but he told us earlier he was "not comfortable with the direction" the Oversight Committee was going. His comment came shortly after he was the sole negative vote on whether even to allow the subject of a possible interim hire to be considered at today's meeting.

Murphy starts work tomorrow, although he is not scheduled to relocate from the San Diego area to San Francisco until after Labor Day. His contract runs until March 4.

As we reported below, his salary will be $300,000 for roughly six months of service. That compares to the current $412,500 annual salary cap on the permanent president's salary. However, Murphy will not accept fringe benefits from CIRM. The cost of state fringe benefits range from 35 percent of salary to more. Murphy will forgo Salk-financed retirement benefits such as health insurance. That was part of a move to avoid the appearance of any conflicts of interest involving Salk.

Murphy will recuse himself from any decisions involving San Diego area institutions. John M. Simpson of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumers Rights raised another possible conflict involving Murphy's service on the board of the biomedical industry group, the California Healthcare Institute. That institute has lobbied CIRM for intellectual property rules that are favorable to industry. However, Philip Pizzo, a member of the Oversight Committee and dean of Stanford's medical school, said Murphy had resigned from the CHI board. Pizzo said he knew because he currently services on the CHI panel.

Murphy, 62, also agreed not to be a candidate during the search for a permanent president at CIRM.

Some of you may recall that Murphy earlier this year was involved in reconfiguring the dual executive structure at CIRM to make it more appealing for recruitment purposes. At one point, he called the agency's executive structure "a dog's breakfast."

As for a look at the conventional news coverage of the appointment of a new, albeit interim CEO for the world's single largest source of funding for human embryonic stem cell research, we filed a report for Wired.com. Reporter Terri Somers of the San Diego Union-Tribune was quick with a story on Murphy's appointment at 3:33 p.m. today although she was not present at the meeting.

San Diego is a global hotbed for stem cell research. Somers is currently the leading California reporter on California's stem cell business, which is No. 1 in the nation. No other writer has devoted the energy or time in the last year to the subject, but of course that could change.

We surmise that cost-cutting imperatives, currently rampant in the sagging newspaper business, prevented her from traveling. A poor decision for a paper that circulates in one of the hottest spots in the world for stem cell research, but a decision that is not much different than ill-considered moves by most of the ailing daily newspaper enterprises in this country. What newspapers sell is audience. The buyers are advertisers(75 percent or so revenues have traditionally come from advertisers). When the content is nil or irrelevant, audience shrinks, which it has been doing nationally for several decades as cost-cutting mavens ruled the day in the newspaper business. Business researchers at UC Davis have done a serious study that illuminates this trend.

But, as they say, I digress. Here are some other links to the only other two stories on Murphy we found at the time of this writing, although they are quite brief: Jim Downing, Sacramento Bee; San Francisco Business Times.

Former Salk CEO Named as Interim CIRM President

Neuroscientist Richard A. Murphy, the former president of the Salk Institute, was named today as the interim president of the California stem agency.

The Oversight Committee of the agency approved the appointment on a split voice vote(one no). Murphy begins work tomorrow on a six-month, $300,000 contract. He will recuse himself from "any decisions" involving San Diego institutions.

We have more on this later.

Interim CIRM President in The Works?

The California stem cell agency is moving towards hiring an interim president to head the $3 billion institute while it completes its search for a new chief executive.

California stem cell Chairman Robert Klein last week told the California Stem Cell Report that he hoped to advance the search in a "material way" at Wednesday's Oversight Committee. It appears that comment is linked to a cryptic, recently posted addition to the agenda for consideration of a "personal services" contract.

Stem cell scuttlebutt has it that a six-month contract would be offered to the interim president. Some possibilities could include two Oversight Committee members who left the board recently because they no longer held the positions that qualified them for seats on the committee. They are the former president of Caltech and Nobel Prize winner, David Baltimore, and the former head of the Salk Institute, Richard Murphy. Other possibilities include Ed Penhoet, vice chair of the Oversight Committee, and Paul Berg, a Stanford Nobel Prize winner who has filled in as an alternate on the panel.

Former President Zach Hall announced his retirement last December and departed at the end of April. His responsibilities were picked up on an interim basis for the past three months by two current executives at the agency, who already had full plates.

As early as last January, some members of CIRM's Oversight Committee were worried about drift at the institute during the transition to a new president, especially if there were a significant hiatus while a new president was found.

Peril and the CIRM Presidential Search

Attempting to understand the presidential search of the California stem cell agency certainly meets the definition of a task fraught with peril. It is a process that is being conducted behind closed doors and whose participants are sworn to secrecy on any significant details. All of which is entirely appropriate.

Nonetheless the search is fundamentally important to the current and future health of the $3 billion effort and is worthy of some public scrutiny.

We wrote earlier this week about the process, and today another piece of ours appeared on Wired.com.

To summarize: compensation, personal chemistry, structural management issues all are complicating the recruitment effort. But there are others, one of which is the desire for a blue ribbon scientist to run the agency. But the new president would also be expected to give up his lab and research work. The first search in 2005 apparently brought forth some scientists/presidential candidates who wanted to continue their lab work. This time around that seems to have been ruled out by the Oversight Committee. So that narrows the field.

Former president Zach Hall earlier this year suggested to CIRM directors that a new president could do very well without having a high-toned scientific pedigree. But when we talked to Oversight Committee member Jeff Sheehy last week, he said candidates with a good scientific vision were the ones that excited him. Of course, Sheehy is but one of 29 members of the committee.

Hall also said in an interview last month that the Oversight Committee “must be willing to enable a new president to take a strong leadership role.” It was a comment based on the ticklish relationship between him and California stem cell chairman Robert Klein, which was exacerbated by Prop. 71's unnecessary dabblings in management minutia. Those are now locked in state law and virtually immutable.

Finally come comments from John Simpson of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumers Rights. He is a longtime observer of CIRM and reasonably fair-minded. We asked him for his thoughts on the search. Here is the text of what he sent us:

"The selection of CIRM's president is undoubtedly the ICOC's single most important task. He or she will be the chief executive of an enterprise that is costing California taxpayers $6 billion.

"Zach Hall helped define the president's role and deserves credit for getting the fledgling agency off the ground. The new president faces the daunting task of moving forward from entrepreneurial, adrenaline-filled days of a start-up mode to maintaining an established agency where the routine is, indeed, routine.

"He or she must be seen to do the public's business in public and will need vision to move the agency forward.

"A thick skin and diplomatic skills will be a necessary in dealing with some of the oversized egos on the ICOC as well as the various members of the public who take an interest in the agency.

"Judging from hints dropped by ICOC Chairman Bob Klein, the new president will have to deal with a new board chairman within a year; Klein will likely step down in 2008. That could make the new president's job easier.

"The average California probably won't pay much attention to the agency even though $6 billion of taxpayer money is at stake unless something goes terribly wrong, or incredibly right -- meaning a significant scientific breakthrough results from California's efforts.

"The most likely scenario is the middle ground. Incremental advances, but no flashy breakthroughs.

"If the ICOC can pick the perfect person, however, Californians will ultimately take notice because the president will actually deliver on the wild promises made during the campaign to pass Proposition 71."

One caveat to Simpson's remarks. While Klein did speak last December about stepping down next year, it is not a done deal.