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RESEARCH PERSONNEL

Wilson Resigns as IHGT Director

Dr. James Wilson, the John Herr Musser Professor and Chair of Molecular and Cellular Engineering, has quietly stepped down as director of Penn’s Institute for Human Gene Therapy (IHGT). His resignation, which took effect July 1, came after an eight-member faculty committee, organized last August to review the institute’s organization and focus, called for changes in its structure. The committee recommended that the institute carry out more clinical research, including cell-based therapies, stem-cell biology, and molecular virology. Wilson, who has been up against ongoing FDA procedures that may bar him from any future research on humans, will be supporting those efforts as a faculty member and department chair.

“Dr. Wilson and I have discussed these recommendations, and we are in agreement that science can best be advanced in a more broadly focused institute,” wrote Dr. Arthur Rubenstein, dean of the School of Medicine and executive vice president for the Health System, in an April 19 memo to the medical-school faculty. Rubenstein has said that Wilson’s decision to step down as the IHGT’s director had nothing to do with the highly publicized case of 18-year-old Jesse Gelsinger, who died in September 1999 while participating in an IHGT study conducted by Wilson. Scientists at the IHGT have since acknowledged some lapses in protocol during the study, but none which contributed to Gelsinger’s death. In September 2000, the Gelsinger family filed a lawsuit against the University, Wilson, and several other scientists connected with the incident; six weeks later, the case was settled out of court. This past February, the FDA rejected a letter of explanation from Wilson concerning allegations that he violated safety procedures during the Gelsinger research.

In addition to teaching, Wilson plans to continue research involving new gene-delivery devices for the treatment of a variety of genetic diseases.

—Sarah Blackman C’03

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Copyright 2002 The Pennsylvania Gazette Last modified 7/01/02