Jury awards Vet prof $5m. in suit against U. officials

Veterinary School Professor Jorge Ferrer claimed he was defamed by Penn in 1990. After a nine-year legal battle, a Philadelphia Common Pleas Court jury found the University and three former top officials liable for defaming a School of Veterinary Medicine professor and awarded him $5 million in a December verdict. The lawsuit arose following a 1990 incident when Vet School Professor Jorge Ferrer -- who still works for the University -- was disciplined by then-Provost Michael Aiken, a defendant in the case, for alleged negligence in performing a research project that accidentally exposed 130 people to lambs that had been inoculated with a deadly virus. The punishment prevented Ferrer from conducting animal research and from conducting or supervising studies of the leukemia-causing virus for 17 months. Faculty committees twice recommended that the penalty be lifted, but Aiken -- who served as Penn's provost from 1987 until 1993 and is currently the chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign -- rejected those proposals. Penn spokesperson Ken Wildes said the University is "very disappointed in the verdict," and plans to appeal. University attorney and Law Professor David Rudovsky confirmed that he is appealing the case, but declined to comment further. Ferrer's attorney did not return repeated calls for comment. Aiken also did not return phone calls. In addition to Aiken, the suit also named former Vet School Dean Edwin Andrews and Chemistry Professor Barry Cooperman, who was the vice provost for research at the time of the incident. Cooperman declined to comment, while Andrews could not be reached. In April 1990, Ferrer was conducting research on 14 lambs inoculated with the cancer-causing virus HTLV-1 in his experimentation to test the "blocking agents" present in sheep to prevent leukemia. Ferrer did not segregate the sheep he had inoculated with the lethal virus and left the flock in an area open to the public, potentially exposing 130 people -- including 100 preschoolers -- to the virus. Experts said at the time that the risk of anyone contracting the disease from such exposure was extremely minimal and none of them were found to be ill. The virus, similar to HIV, can only be transmitted through sexual contact, blood transfusions, breast milk and infected needles. In a February 1995 deposition, Ferrer said the steps taken by the University were "excessive and arbitrary." "Someone is charged with misconduct in research and the charges are distributed nationally," he said. "It's obvious that this has tarnished my reputation." Ferrer admitted he had made an "inexcusable mistake" and he expressed "deep regrets [for] not isolating the lambs." Despite the sanctions, Ferrer did not lose rank or salary, continuing to receive over $115,000 per year even though he did not teach, train fellows or do committee work. Though a committee of Vet School officials cleared Ferrer of misconduct charges, it faulted him for lapses of judgment and poor communication. He was required to attend a course on hazardous materials and to have his laboratory monitored by Vet School officials. "Because of their nature, these punitive sanctions will most likely destroy a research program which, as judged by leading scientists in the field, has made fundamental contributions to leukemia and retrovirus research for more than 25 years," Ferrer said in a statement released immediately after the sanctions were imposed.

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