Anthrax Study Rejected by Oklahoma State

[that70sfan11]

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http://www.newsok.com/anthrax-study-rejected-by-osu/article/3421451#ixzz0aIt7Qy5y

what do you guys think??

If any of us in-staters get interviews there, this might come up! Plus, I'd like to know people's opinions on it

 

[twelvetigers]

Pbbt. That damn woman really caused us some trouble.

 

[Pandacinny]

Well, at least one legislator in the state is unhappy with the decision:
http://www.philrichardson.us/richardsonnews.php?id=45

Speaking of Research has a good post on this, too:
http://speakingofresearch.com/2009/...rferes-with-federally-funded-health-research/

Personally, I think this decision by the university president was ridiculous. The school has spent a lot of money building a BSL-3 level facility and specifically intended to house non-human primates there, but now the university president is uncomfortable with the idea because he might lose some donor money.

If I were any researcher using animals for any reason at OKState, I would be pretty nervous right now. If the university president can go above the IACUC committee and unilaterally quash research that makes him uncomfortable, who's to say what could happen?

 

[HopefulAg]

That's pretty ridiculous. I wonder if the president has his own animal-rights agenda or something. Why else would he stop the research? He says it's not in the best interest of the university but how so? Why is expanding research fields a bad thing?

It's clearly not in the best interest of the university to stop the project, and they have the facilities to conduct it. So why? All that I can think of given the present information is the President of the university has personal qualms about it, and in that case he needs to step down because he's not doing what's best for the university.

 

[eventualeventer]

Talk about shooting himself in the foot, too -- I would wager that NIH grants bring in significantly more $$$$ to the university than any one donor, even if she is a gazillionaire. Not to mention the funds wasted on building a BSL-3 lab with those capabilities.

 

[thiems]

Talk about shooting himself in the foot, too -- I would wager that NIH grants bring in significantly more $$$$ to the university than any one donor, even if she is a gazillionaire. Not to mention the funds wasted on building a BSL-3 lab with those capabilities.

The Pickens have given over $400 million to OSU. I'd say that is more than an NIH grant would ever bring.

 

[twelvetigers]

Might as well name it T. Boone Pickens University, for what it's worth. I'm thankful, of course, but it does mean that the school board of reagents has to listen to his psychotic wife.

 

[eventualeventer]

The Pickens have given over $400 million to OSU. I'd say that is more than an NIH grant would ever bring.

Oops. I was going off of the $5 million donation mentioned in the article, which is in the realm of possibility for a lab studying human bioterrorism agents. 😳