Brendan Leier
Edmonton Journal
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
I would like to correct some statements attributed to me in the Nov. 9 Edmonton Journal article entitled "U of A tobacco research comes under fire from within."
First, I believe the legitimacy of a collaborative grant such as this must be evaluated in relation to all industry funded research done at the university.
Second, if the public believes that a university can mitigate the conflict of interest in doing collaborative research, then the question becomes, does a specific project entail some kind of secondary public good?
I intended my comments to reflect, and be placed into the context of these two important criteria.
I could not advise that any research be accepted or rejected out of hand, as it might appear in the article.
I also suggested that the company's interest was in "buying credibility," not that the university's business was to sell its reputation.
Brendan Leier,
John Dossetor Health Ethics Centre,
University of Alberta