CHA Grant Application: Pushed or Jumped?
We all know that when a top-ranking government official resigns, there's a more-than-likely chance he or she was actually fired but given the option of a graceful exit. And we all know that the ubiquitous "wanting to spend more time with my family" reason is almost always a dodge.
Similarly, when a controversial applicant for California stem cell research funds withdrew its approved request during its final administrative review, it seemed a bit disingenuous. The CHA Regenerative Medicine Institute was approved for $2.6 million for cloning-based stem cell research by the grants review and governing boards of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). CGS and others immediately raised a number of questions, including whether CHA RMI was a "real" nonprofit or established by its for-profit parent merely as means to access state grants.
A statement from CHA read, in part,
CHA Regenerative Medicine Institute (CHARMI) more than adequately addressed the baseless criticism. We think the process was needlessly politicized.... Nevertheless, we are withdrawing because the last thing we want to do is be the source of any impairment to [CIRM's] current level of well-earned public support.
Sure.
Regardless, the outcome is the right one, although its unfortunate that CIRM didn't do the right thing.
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