Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Dr. Paul Aisen and USC contersue UCSD over claims of denied access

Flack-wielding flacks

Paul Aisen
Paul Aisen

UCSD’s war with the University of Southern California over the future of a national Alzheimer’s research program is costing taxpayers plenty in legal fees. Besides lots of lawyers, the state-funded school has also deployed its costly public relations legions against the Los Angeles invader of its turf. USC and its new employee, ex-UCSD researcher Dr. Paul Aisen, asserted in an August 3 court filing that the San Diego school “abruptly and without warning cut off all of Dr. Aisen’s electronic access (email, phones, servers) to the university systems.

According to the complaint, “Dr. Aisen relied on the university electronic systems for many aspects of his practice, including the determination and adjustment of doses of experimental drugs to clinical patients. By revoking his access, [UCSD] interfered with Dr. Aisen’s physician-patient relationships, compromised patient safety, and threatened the academic integrity of the research.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

“That is not true,” UCSD Health’s media relations official Jackie Carr told Science Magazine. Carr, employed by the university’s public relations operation as a public information senior supervisor, pulled down gross pay of $104,536 in 2013, according to numbers posted online by the University of California. In addition to refuting Aisen, Carr has produced news releases with titles including “Underappreciated Cause of Bowel Obstruction Should Be Included in Surgical Assessments,” and “UC San Diego Health Ranks #1 by U.S. News & World Report.”

In addition to Carr, there are five others on UCSD Health’s “press team,” according to its website. Ex–Union-Tribune science reporter Scott LaFee, now director of media relations, was paid $116,884 last year, according to university data. Senior public information officer Michelle Brubaker got $77,146; public information officer Yadira Galindo got $75,530. Senior public information officer Heather Buschman, was paid $13,405 during the year, according to the data; the salary of public information officer Bonnie Ward is not listed. UCSD Health’s public relations operation supplements the university’s main PR office, headed up by Clare Kristofco, associated chancellor and chief of staff, who in 2014 was paid $266,025. Marketing, media, and public affairs chief Jeff Gattas received $166,131 last year.

USC’s counter-complaint in the Aisen case alleges a myriad of UCSD overhead abuses. The school “pressured Dr. Aisen to move [the Alzheimer’s program] to the UCSD campus so that UCSD could collect indirect costs of up to 55 percent, a move which would have crippled the program financially by diverting too much grant funding from research projects into UCSD’s Administration.” In addition, Aisen was told, “the contracting department was insufficiently funded and could not keep up with the volume of work.”

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego Dim Sum Tour, Warwick’s Holiday Open House

Events November 24-November 27, 2024
Next Article

Trophy truck crushes four at Baja 1000

"Two other racers on quads died too,"
Paul Aisen
Paul Aisen

UCSD’s war with the University of Southern California over the future of a national Alzheimer’s research program is costing taxpayers plenty in legal fees. Besides lots of lawyers, the state-funded school has also deployed its costly public relations legions against the Los Angeles invader of its turf. USC and its new employee, ex-UCSD researcher Dr. Paul Aisen, asserted in an August 3 court filing that the San Diego school “abruptly and without warning cut off all of Dr. Aisen’s electronic access (email, phones, servers) to the university systems.

According to the complaint, “Dr. Aisen relied on the university electronic systems for many aspects of his practice, including the determination and adjustment of doses of experimental drugs to clinical patients. By revoking his access, [UCSD] interfered with Dr. Aisen’s physician-patient relationships, compromised patient safety, and threatened the academic integrity of the research.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

“That is not true,” UCSD Health’s media relations official Jackie Carr told Science Magazine. Carr, employed by the university’s public relations operation as a public information senior supervisor, pulled down gross pay of $104,536 in 2013, according to numbers posted online by the University of California. In addition to refuting Aisen, Carr has produced news releases with titles including “Underappreciated Cause of Bowel Obstruction Should Be Included in Surgical Assessments,” and “UC San Diego Health Ranks #1 by U.S. News & World Report.”

In addition to Carr, there are five others on UCSD Health’s “press team,” according to its website. Ex–Union-Tribune science reporter Scott LaFee, now director of media relations, was paid $116,884 last year, according to university data. Senior public information officer Michelle Brubaker got $77,146; public information officer Yadira Galindo got $75,530. Senior public information officer Heather Buschman, was paid $13,405 during the year, according to the data; the salary of public information officer Bonnie Ward is not listed. UCSD Health’s public relations operation supplements the university’s main PR office, headed up by Clare Kristofco, associated chancellor and chief of staff, who in 2014 was paid $266,025. Marketing, media, and public affairs chief Jeff Gattas received $166,131 last year.

USC’s counter-complaint in the Aisen case alleges a myriad of UCSD overhead abuses. The school “pressured Dr. Aisen to move [the Alzheimer’s program] to the UCSD campus so that UCSD could collect indirect costs of up to 55 percent, a move which would have crippled the program financially by diverting too much grant funding from research projects into UCSD’s Administration.” In addition, Aisen was told, “the contracting department was insufficiently funded and could not keep up with the volume of work.”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Classical Classical at The San Diego Symphony Orchestra

A concert I didn't know I needed
Next Article

Southern California Asks: 'What Is Vinivia?' Meet the New Creator-First Livestreaming App

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader