Overhaul is planned for Mass. science panel
As part of its newly announced commitment to biotechnology and stem cell research, the Patrick administration plans to revamp the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, a little-known state agency that was enveloped in controversy during the waning days of Governor Mitt Romney's tenure.
During his final months in office, the Republican governor appointed board members who opposed certain forms of embryonic stem cell research to oversee the center, which funds biotechnology research and collaborates with technology firms.
But Patrick, who views funding stem cell work as a primary part of the center's mission, now plans to expand the board to include more scientists and others who support the work, his aides said yesterday.
The center was created last year and given $10 million to make research grants to local scientists, as well as to develop ways to promote growth in the state's life sciences sector.
However, politics overshadowed the center's formation last year. In late November, as Romney prepared for a presidential run, his appointees to the board appointed Aaron D'Elia, a former budget aide with no science background, to become the center's executive director.
Aides for Patrick, who had already won the election, were outraged at the lame duck appoint ment, which threatened to hamper the new governor's ability to pursue his own biotechnology agenda.
Two of Patrick's Cabinet members automatically took slots on the center's five-member board after he was elected .
University of Massachusetts president Jack Wilson, a supporter of stem cell research, has retained his seat.
But D'Elia, who has a one-year contract, remains, as do two Romney-era appointees serving five-year terms.
Patrick's aides refused to say yesterday whether D'Elia would keep his job. D'Elia said in an interview that he was looking forward to working at the center and would have no trouble funding stem cell research if the center's board requested it.
"We've been in start-up mode for the past few months," he said. "We're turning the corner now. . . . Things are going great."
D'Elia said the center was in the midst of a major study to determine how local colleges and universities can supply more trained workers to local life sciences firms.
Patrick's aides said the center would be more aggressive in the coming years in funding a broad range of scientific work.
They said the administration was particularly interested in gap funding that would provide extra help to scientists who already have federal grants but require more money to undertake their work.
They said the center's overall funding would probably be increased, though they would not say be how much or when.
They said the administration had not yet taken a look at the nuts and bolts of the center's operation, but would do so in the next few months before making announcements about funding and staffing.
But they made clear that stem cell research was at the fore of the center's mandate. 