Biology subjects

Taylor, P.

Publications and source records attributed to Taylor, P..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2018

Beyond financial conflicts of interest: Institutional oversight of faculty consulting agreements at schools of medicine and public health

ImportanceApproximately one-third of U.S. life sciences faculty engage in industry consulting. Despite reports that consulting contracts often impinge on faculty and university interests, institutional approaches to regulating consulting agreements are largely unknown.\n\nObjectiveTo investigate the nature of institutional oversight of faculty consulting contracts at U.S. schools of medicine and public health.\n\nDesignStructured telephone interviews with institutional administrators. Questions included the nature of oversight for faculty consulting agreements, if any, and views about consulting as a private versus institutional matter. Interviews were analyzed using a structured coding scheme.\n\nSettingAll accredited schools of medicine and public health in the U.S.\n\nParticipantsAdministrators responsible for faculty affairs were identified via internet searches and telephone and email follow-up. The 118 administrators interviewed represented 73% of U.S. schools of medicine and public health, and 75% of those invited to participate.\n\nInterventionStructured, 15-30 minute telephone interviews.\n\nMain outcomes and measuresPrevalence and type of institutional oversight; responses to concerning provisions in consulting agreements; perceptions of institutional oversight.\n\nResultsOne third of institutions (36%) required faculty to submit at least some agreements for institutional review and 36% reviewed contracts upon request, while 35% refused to review contracts. Among institutions with review, there was wide variation the issues covered. The most common topic was intellectual property rights (64%), while only 23% looked at publication rights and 19% for inappropriately broad confidentiality provisions. Six in ten administrators reported they had no power to prevent faculty from signing consulting agreements. Although most respondents identified institutional risks from consulting relationships, many maintained that consulting agreements are \"private.\"\n\nConclusions and relevanceOversight of faculty consulting agreements at U.S. schools of medicine and public health is inconsistent across institutions and usually not robust. The interests at stake suggest the need for stronger oversight.

scientific communication and education↗

bioRxiv2018

Pathological Oxidation of PTPN12 Underlies ABL1 Phosphorylation in HLRCC

Hereditary Leiomyomatosis and Renal Cell Cancer (HLRCC) is an inherited cancer syndrome associated with a highly aggressive form of type 2 papillary renal cell carcinoma (PRCC). Germ line inactivating alterations in Fumarate Hydratase (FH) cause HLRCC, and result in elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Recent work indicates that FH -/-PRCC cells have increased ABL1 activation, which promotes tumor growth, but how ABL1 is activated remained unclear. Oxidation can regulate protein-tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) catalytic activity; conceivably, ROS-catalyzed inactivation of an ABL-directed PTP might account for ABL1 activation in this malignancy. Previously, our group developed \"q-oxPTPome,\" a method that can globally monitor the oxidation of classical PTPs. We have now refined the q-oxPTPome approach, increasing its sensitivity by >10X. Applying q-oxPTPome to FH-deficient cell models shows that multiple PTPs are either highly oxidized (including PTPN12) or overexpressed. In general, highly oxidized PTPs were those that have relatively high sensitivity to exogenous H2O2. Most PTP oxidation in FH-deficient cells is reversible, although nearly 40% of PTPN13 is oxidized irreversibly to the sulfonic acid state. Using \"substrate-trapping mutants\", we mapped PTPs to their putative substrates, and found that only PTPN12 could target ABL1. Furthermore, knockdown experiments identify PTPN12 as the major ABL1 phosphatase in HLRCC. Overall, our results show that ROS-induced PTPN12 oxidation accounts for ABL1 phosphorylation in HLRCC-associated PRCC, reveal a novel mechanism for inactivating a tumor suppressor gene product, and establish a direct link between pathological PTP oxidation and neoplastic disease.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2017

Cooperation And Liaison Between Universities And Editors (CLUE): Recommendations On Best Practice

Journals and research institutions have common interests regarding the trustworthiness of research publications but their specific roles and responsibilities differ. These draft recommendations aim to address issues surrounding cooperation and liaison between journals and institutions about possible and actual problems with reported research. The proposals will be discussed at various meetings including the World Conference on Research Integrity in May 2017. We will also consider comments and suggestions posted on this preprint.\n\nThe main recommendations are that: O_LINational registers of individuals or departments responsible for research integrity at institutions should be created.\nC_LIO_LIInstitutions should develop mechanisms for assessing the validity of research reports that are independent from processes to determine whether individual researchers have committed misconduct.\nC_LIO_LIEssential research data and peer review records should be retained for at least 10 years.\nC_LIO_LIWhile journals should normally raise concerns with authors in the first instance, they also need criteria to determine when to contact the institution before, or at the same time as, alerting the authors in cases of suspected data fabrication or falsification to prevent the destruction of evidence.\nC_LIO_LIAnonymous or pseudonymous allegations made to journals or institutions should be judged on their merit and not dismissed automatically.\nC_LIO_LIInstitutions should release relevant sections of reports of research trustworthiness or misconduct investigations to all journals that have published research that was the subject of the investigation.\nC_LI

scientific communication and education↗