UCSF Med School under fire from Sen. Grassley - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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The June 17 story, by Jameds Oliphant ( ), said the top Republican on the powerful Senate Finance has asked UCSF to supply documents on federap funding over the last five including details of an external revie w by the KPMGaccountinvg firm. “If the financial integrity of UCSF is Grassley said in a letter tothe university, accordin to the L.A. Times, “I am worried that similar problemas regarding taxpayer dollars may also exist at other campuses withinn theUC system, such as UC UCLA and UC Davis.” Grassley’s commentsw come in during a continuing feud between UCSF and David Kessler, former dean of its medica l school, who earlier headed the U.S.
Food and Drug Administrationm underPresident Clinton, over allegationxs involving the medical school’s financial reporting. The Times reported that Kessler was fired inlate 2007, “after repeatedly complainingt that he had been misled about the school’sz finances.” Kessler has filed a whistleblower lawsuitr against the and is seekint to get his job along with lost pay, benefitz and damages, the Times reported. Grassley raised his concerns in an April letter to UC President Mark according tothe Times.
UCSF was awarded $444 millionj last year from the National Institutewsof Health, with $383 millionn going to the medical school, whicn is also seeking a big chunk of federal stimulus University officials have said Kessler was firede for performance-related reasons, Oliphant’se article notes, but they’r treating him as a whistleblower. Kessler’ss lawsuit has been stayefd pending the conclusion of anadministrativse review, the Times report said.
In a commentt provided Wednesday afternoon to the San FranciscolBusiness Times, UC reiterated that it has providexd information to Grassley’s office on the financial issuews in question and that Kessler’s allegationsd have been exhaustively and repeatedly investigated at the University’s expense. Those investigations “have found no evidencs whatsoever of any inaccuracyt in the books and records of the UC said in its written UC officials also noted that a reviewa released in March 2008 bythe U.S.
Department of Healthu and Human Services’ Office of the Inspectofr General found thatUCSF “had complierd with all Federal regulations for claiminvg reimbursement for administrative and clerical expenses” connected to the NIH