Profession
Study analyzes comfort with spiritual concerns
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Jan. 14, 2008
Psychiatrists are the physicians most comfortable with addressing patients' religious or spiritual concerns, according to a study in the December 2007 American Journal of Psychiatry., established pursuant to a 2004 state ballot initiative approving $3 billion in stem cell funds, handed out $54 million in grants to 22 researchers.
Groups were disqualified because they involved top officials with ties to CIRM. They include the University of Southern California, San Diego's Burnham Institute, and University of California campuses in Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco, according to a CIRM announcement. Representatives from those universities contested the move, saying they misunderstood application rules that barred them from writing in support of application grants. Seventeen of the 29 CIRM directors have ties to groups that could benefit from an upcoming round of grants totaling $260 million, according to Wired magazine.
A number of interest groups are calling for an overhaul of the CIRM structure. CIRM so far has given out $208 million in grants.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2008/01/14/prbf0114.htm.