CPRIT places moratorium on new grants

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas agreed to a moratorium on new grants in response to a letter from Governor Rick Perry and two other state officials calling for the agency to "fully address the concerns that have been raised about its process and operations" prior to awarding new grants. The letter notes that resolving the concerns would include CPRIT governance reforms and filling key management and peer review positions.

Also on Friday, CPRIT named Wayne Roberts as interim executive director. Roberts was associate VP of public policy at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. He replaces William Gimson, who resigned as executive director earlier this month. Gimson said in his resignation letter that for the last eight months, those at CPRIT have "not been able to do their jobs due to wasted efforts expanded in low value activities that do nothing to advance cures for cancer." ...