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Vera S. Byers, M.D., Ph.D., Pharmaceutical Consultant, protesting the charges against Dr. Kay
A letter to Ms. Judy Gignac, President of the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR)
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August 12, 1998
Ms. Judy Gignac, President
Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR)
[address removed]
Dear Ms. Gignac
I am a physician/scientist working in the pharmaceutical industry, and have been serving as a consultant to biotechnology companies in the Washington and California areas for the past 10 years. I have known Dr. Marguerite M.B. Kay since 1971 when we both worked in the laboratory of Dr. Hugh Fudenberg at UCSF, she as a medical student, myself as a postdoctoral fellow. She was unique even then for her brilliance and her blazing honesty. I have followed her career from afar since then, as she made her way into the emerging field of gerontology, and her work has in large part shaped the field. I recently sat on NIH peer review panels with her and she still has those same outstanding qualities she possessed as a young medical student.
As a specialist in Internal Medicine, I have been dismayed for years at the lack of research in the field of gerontology, which is now becoming more critical because of our aging population. Dr. Kay's contribution to this field has been enormous, and includes the discovery of the role of autoantibodies in the removal of aged blood cells, which helps to explain how worn-out cells are discarded. Her continuing definition of the presenescent cell antigen is widely recognized as a major contribution to cellular aging, and she is now working to refine a technique by which Alzheimer's Disease can be diagnosed with a blood test. When completed, this research will allow physicians to differentiate between Alzheimer's, which is currently not curable, from the wide number of dementing diseases which can be cured if they are identified. Her research has had an important part in making pharmaceutical companies aware of the importance (and large market size) for drugs specifically aimed at curing the diseases of the elderly.
I have been shocked and disgusted to read in the newspapers about the prolonged attack by the University of Arizona on Dr. Kay's science and ethics. This attack, which now has persisted over almost 2 years has apparently shut down her laboratory and resulted in her being fired from the University for charges that were repeatedly dismissed by her peers as being completely without merit. The most recent ploy by which the University is attempting to protect themselves from a lawsuit by Dr. Kay by forcing her to agree to admit scientific misconduct, take a year's leave, and undergo psychiatric counseling is simply despicable. It is clearly an attempt by incompetent and inept University officials to try to cover up their past mistakes by forcing a brilliant researcher to lie something she quite correctly refuses to do.
It is especially surprising that a University in Arizona, a state that is heavily dependent upon the influx of aged citizens would treat an internationally acclaimed expert in geriatric medicine in such a shabby manner. As you are surely aware, Arizona's large elderly population forms an important part of the state's voting public, and is responsible for much of the wealth of the state. Instead of terminating Dr. Kay's appointment, the University should be raising funds to provide her with a center for her research. Not only is this behavior contrary to the good of the inhabitants of your state, it will compromise the ability of the University to attract clinical trials from pharmaceutical companies. This will directly impact on incoming funds, and the ability of your Clinical Investigators to publish papers.
The University of Arizona has come a long way in a relatively short period of time. In the recent past, pharmaceutical companies would not even consider placing a clinical trial there, but in the last 10 years it has emerged as a leader in many important clinical fields. I myself have visited there several times in the past two years exploring the possibility of placing clinical trials there, and along with my pharmaceutical colleagues, I have been impressed by researchers such as Dr. Dave Yocum and Dr. Kay as well as other world class scientists. It is a mark of its improving reputation that it was able to attract researchers of this caliber. This reputation is fragile however, and nothing scares off pharmaceutical companies faster than political instability within a university, because it means the company doesn't get the clinical trials performed in a timely fashion. Additionally, since the patients are not well cared for, they suffer adverse effects that are wrongfully attributed to the study drug. This results in a dirty study which compromises the drug's approval. The academic community has been discussing the shoddy treatment of Dr. Kay for the last 6 months; I now am beginning to hear about it from my colleagues in tile pharmaceutical industry, especially those companies specializing in geriatric medicine.
It will be a shame if after 25 years of hard work resulting in an academic reputation which ranks this University in the top tier of American universities, a stupid political dispute such as this tarnishes its reputation. I urge you to resolve this conflict in an honorable fashion by restoring this outstanding researcher's job and laboratory.
Sincerely,
Vera S. Byers, M.D., Ph.D.
Pharmaceutical Consultant
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