IHGT's Wilson resigns Med School position

The continuing saga of Penn's Institute for Human Gene Therapy took yet another interesting twist this week when its embattled director, James M. Wilson, resigned from his side position as chief of medical genetics in the Department of Medicine. The move -- which was announced to department faculty in an e-mail from Interim Chairman of Medicine Stanley Goldfarb on Monday -- concerns only his role as head of a small clinical program within the department. "Jim has decided to resign from the role of division chief in order to focus on his other two major administrative responsibilities," Goldfarb wrote in his e-mail announcement. Wilson will retain his position as director of the IHGT, a role that has brought him under national scrutiny for the past year after the death of a patient participating in a trial there that Wilson was leading. Wilson also serves as chairman of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Engineering. The resignation does not affect either of those two positions. And according to Goldfarb, Wilson resigned so that he may be able to concentrate fully on the growing issues of his other two departments, while allowing the few Medical Genetics faculty members to benefit from the direction of a full-time chief. Barbara Weber, a Hematology professor and the director of Penn's breast cancer research program, was named to fill the Medical Genetics post until a permanent replacement can be found. "[Weber] is an internationally known researcher in cancer genetics -- a true leader in the field," Goldfarb said. "She will help guide the division and the young faculty members." Medical School professors familiar with Wilson and the IHGT situation said his resignation was not directly linked to the controversy surrounding the beleaguered IHGT. According to Hematology Professor Stephen Eck, Wilson had discussed the possibility of leaving the Medical Genetics post some time ago, and likely did so now so that he could focus more intensively on his major research initiatives. "Jim has three administrative positions, and that's a lot," Goldfarb said. "I think he thought [resigning] was in the best interests of developing this Medical Genetics position, and it would be better off if someone else was focusing on it." Wilson's name jumped to the forefront of the debate over human gene therapy just over a year ago, when 18-year old Jesse Gelsinger died while taking part in an IHGT experiment that Wilson was leading. After a two-month investigation, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration suspended all human gene therapy research at Penn in January, citing program deficiencies that "could expose patients to a significant and unreasonable risk." Since then, Wilson and the IHGT have continued their gene therapy research not concerning humans, while mounting an as-yet unsuccessful campaign to have their research permits reinstated by the FDA. And just last week, Gelsinger's father filed suit against Wilson and the University alleging negligence which led to the death of the Arizona teenager.