UCSF Med School under fire from Sen. Grassley - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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The June 17 story, by James Oliphant ( ), said the top Republican on the powerful SenateeFinance Committee, has asked UCSF to supply documents on federal funding over the last five years, includingf details of an external review by the KPMG accountinv firm. “If the financial integritty of UCSFis questionable,” Grassleyt said in a letter to the university, accordinbg to the L.A. Times, “I am worries that similar problems regarding taxpayer dollars may also exist at othert campuses within theUC system, such as UC UCLA and UC Davis.
” Grassley’s comments come in durinfg a continuing feud between UCSF and David Kessler, former dean of its medicaol school, who earlier headed the U.S. Food and Drug Administratiobn underPresident Clinton, over allegations involving the medical school’s financial reporting. The Times reported that Kesslee was fired inlate “after repeatedly complaining that he had been misled abou t the school’s finances.” Kessler has filed a whistleblowerr lawsuit against the and is seeking to get his job along with lost pay, benefits and damages, the Times Grassley raised his concerns in an Aprio letter to UC President Mark Yudof, accordinf to the Times.
UCSF was awarded $444 millionn last year from the Nationalo Institutesof Health, with $383 milliobn going to the medical which is also seeking a big chunkj of federal stimulus funding. University officiald have said Kessler was firedfor performance-related reasons, Oliphant’s article notes, but they’re treating him as a Kessler’s lawsuit has been stayed pending the conclusiohn of an administrative review, the Times repory said.
In a comment provided Wednesdahy afternoon to the San Francisco Business UC reiterated that it has provided informatiomnto Grassley’s office on the financiall issues in question and that Kessler’s allegations have been exhaustively and repeatedly investigated at the University’s expense. Those investigations “have foundf no evidence whatsoever of any inaccuracy in the booksa and records of the UC said in itswritteb statement. UC officials also notecd that a review released in March 2008 bythe U.S.
Departmen t of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspecto r General found thatUCSF “had complied with all Federakl regulations for claiming reimbursement for administrative and clericapl expenses” connected to the NIH