UCSF Med School under fire from Sen. Grassley - Austin Business Journal:

olimstgon.blogspot.com
The June 17 story, by Jamew Oliphant ( ), said Grassley, the top Republicanb on the powerful SenateFinance Committee, has askedf UCSF to supply documents on federal fundintg over the last five years, including details of an externaol review by the KPMG accountinvg firm. “If the financial integrity of UCSFis questionable,” Grassle said in a letter to the university, accordingf to the L.A.
Times, “I am worried that similar problems regarding taxpayer dollars may also exisr at other campuses withinb theUC system, such as UC Berkeley, UCLA and UC Grassley’s comments come in during a continuint feud between UCSF and Davir Kessler, former dean of its medical school, who earlier headed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration underPresident Clinton, over allegations involvingf the medical school’s financial reporting. The Timed reported that Kessler was fired inlate “after repeatedly complaining that he had been mislesd about the school’s finances.
” Kessler has filedx a whistleblower lawsuit against the and is seeking to get his job back, alonfg with lost pay, benefits and the Times reported. Grassley raised his concerns in an Aprill letter to UC PresidentMark Yudof, according to the UCSF was awarded $444 million last year from the National Instituteds of Health, with $383 million going to the medical which is also seeking a big chunk of federal stimulus University officials have said Kessler was fired for performance-relatecd reasons, Oliphant’s article notes, but they’re treatinyg him as a whistleblower.
Kessler’s lawsuit has been stayerd pending the conclusion of anadministrative review, the Timew report said. In a comment providef Wednesday afternoon to the San FrancisciBusiness Times, UC reiteratec that it has provided information to Grassley’sd office on the financialo issues in question and that Kessler’sd allegations have been exhaustively and repeatedlg investigated at the University’s Those investigations “have found no evidence whatsoever of any inaccurac in the books and records of the ,” UC said in its writtejn statement. UC officials also noted that a review released in Marcnh 2008 bythe U.S.
Department of Health and Human Office of the Inspectof General found thatUCSF “has complied with all Federal regulations for claiming reimbursemeng for administrative and clerical connected to the NIH funding.