California's Stem Cell Agency Hides Top-Notch Equity and Inclusion Plans From the Public

A meeting this month is the latest example by the multibillion-dollar state research program

CIRM says DEI plans involving millions of taxpayer dollars are secret. Depositphotos graphic

The California stem cell agency says the failure to share scientific information is a bottleneck that stands in the way of finding cures for deadly diseases, and it is moving with millions of dollars to help solve the problem.

But when it comes to the same dismal lack of sunshine involving equity for the underserved, the $12 billion agency has come up dramatically short. And it is doing so once again this Thursday.  

Known officially as the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the agency has a stash of top-notch ways to overcome longstanding barriers to equity in medical research. But CIRM has placed them under lock and key. It refuses to share them with the public, researchers, and policymakers. 

Want to know how Reena Parada Thomas of Stanford University plans to assure equity in developing a treatment for the most common form of malignant brain tumors in adults with a $12 million grant funded by California taxpayers? No way --  even though the stem cell agency’s grant reviewers say it is “one of the best (equity) applications to date” with “elements from an outstandingly successful program with a great track record in place.”