Taking the Conflict-of-Interest Heat
04/08/10 14:24 Filed in: GenomeWeb Daily Scan
Submitted by S. Pelech - Kinexus on Wed, 08/04/2010 - 14:24.
There seems to be relatively little concern when faculty in engineering departments provide consulting to industry or clinical scientists see patients to derive extra income. However, it seems like a huge sacrilege for faculty members in life sciences departments to consult with biotech companies and large pharma for a fee. The salaries of university faculty in the life sciences are relatively low compared to other professions with comparable educational and experience requirements. Moreover, tenure is becoming increasingly rare for those in the academic stream. One of the greatest disappointments to governments is the poor translation of basic research in the universities to practical applications that foster economic development. This is extremely critical for the survival of the economies of developed countries in the competitive flat world landscape. Working with industry provides academics the opportunities to apply their talents to tackling important problems such as diagnosing and curing diseases. We should be encouraging greater academic-industrial interactions, not actively discouraging them.
Link to the original blog post.
There seems to be relatively little concern when faculty in engineering departments provide consulting to industry or clinical scientists see patients to derive extra income. However, it seems like a huge sacrilege for faculty members in life sciences departments to consult with biotech companies and large pharma for a fee. The salaries of university faculty in the life sciences are relatively low compared to other professions with comparable educational and experience requirements. Moreover, tenure is becoming increasingly rare for those in the academic stream. One of the greatest disappointments to governments is the poor translation of basic research in the universities to practical applications that foster economic development. This is extremely critical for the survival of the economies of developed countries in the competitive flat world landscape. Working with industry provides academics the opportunities to apply their talents to tackling important problems such as diagnosing and curing diseases. We should be encouraging greater academic-industrial interactions, not actively discouraging them.
Link to the original blog post.