Stem cell chief a top scientist

When Australian researcher Alan Trounson visited the San Francisco headquarters of California's stem cell agency this summer, he couldn't figure out why Bob Klein, the agency's chairman, wanted to tour an elementary school.

"I thought, 'Well, he's a bit of a strange man,' " Trounson said.

As it turned out, Klein was in recruiting mode.

Trounson, 61, has a 6-year-old son; Klein wanted Trounson to picture family life in the Bay Area.

Later that evening, Klein asked Trounson to apply to be the agency's president.

"I said, 'You're joking.' "

Two months later, Trounson is preparing to step across an ocean to lead the $3 billion California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, created by the passage of Proposition 71 in 2004, which has made California the global hub of stem cell research.

But it's a young agency that's off to a rocky start. Funding was delayed by a lengthy court challenge. High staff turnover, drawn-out internal policy debates and the abrupt resignation in April of Trounson's predecessor, Zach Hall, have combined to slow the agency's progress. It is months behind schedule on a 10-year strategic plan released just last December.

The blame for many of the troubles has fallen on Klein, the real estate financier who was the force behind the ballot measure that created the agency. Critics say Klein has micromanaged the agency from his position as chair of its 29-member oversight board.

"From my experience of watching Dr. Hall, I believe that the most challenging aspect of (Trounson's) job will be to juggle the interests and personalities" of the board members, said Jesse Reynolds, project director for the Center for Genetics and Society in Oakland.

"Obviously, in particular, Chairman Robert Klein exerts a lot of authority."

But by all accounts, if anyone is up to the challenge of leading the agency, it's Trounson.

His 72-page résumé chronicles a career of cutting-edge research, including a pioneering role in the development of in-vitro fertilization. He has led Australia's national stem cell research program, founded eight companies and is an internationally respected figure in the field.

Via e-mail from Australia, Trounson said he has "no concerns" about working with Klein. "I think our skills are complementary and we are well suited for a very productive partnership," he wrote. "Bob Klein has a wealth of experience in finance, law, bonds, political connections and advocacy. That is worth tapping for the timely delivery of our outcomes."

Jeff Sheehy, an advocate for AIDS patients who sits on the governing board, said that Trounson stood out among the other applicants for his ability to articulate a long-term research plan for the agency.

In an interview, Trounson said one unifying theme might be the study of the body's immune response to the insertion of foreign cells. It's an issue likely to crop up across the range of potential embryonic stem cell therapies.

"You need to be able to address the immune system in a way that is enabling, rather than working against it," Trounson said.

Because of his stature as a stem cell researcher, Trounson promises to bring a level of scientific authority to the presidency that was missing under his predecessor, Sheehy said.

"I was very pleased to see that we were also buying into a scientific vision," Sheehy said. "Zach (Hall) did a great job of setting up the institute, but Zach was not a stem cell scientist."

Hall is a neuroscientist by training. In an interview, Hall wouldn't comment directly on his working relationship with Klein, but said that the agency "has a management structure that presents some challenges."

Hall praised Trounson's scientific achievements and called him "a wonderful, wonderful appointment" for the agency.

"The good news is that Bob (Klein) has recruited him and Bob has spent a lot of time with him. So I'm very hopeful the two of them will be able work together effectively," he said. "I think that's extremely important."

Klein and Trounson have worked together in the past. Last year, Klein said, he traveled to Australia, on Trounson's invitation, to help Trounson and other researchers lobby for revisions to that country's restrictions on embryonic stem cell research.

Klein said he anticipates a smooth working relationship with Trounson.

"Dr. Trounson ... views this board as a resource that he can jointly make decisions with. Dr. Hall was accustomed to being a deputy dean at a medical school, where what he said goes," Klein said. "I deeply respect the contribution made by Dr. Hall, but ... his was a difficult leadership style."

In Australia, Trounson has been a prominent advocate for expanding embryonic stem cell research. He was accused of overstating the field's promise in 2002 after he showed members of Parliament a video of a paralyzed rat that was able to walk after being treated with what Trounson said were human embryonic stem cells. The cells, it was later revealed, were actually what are known as human germ cells, drawn from aborted fetuses between 5 and 9 weeks old.

Trounson said he had not intended to mislead, and apologized. The episode appears to be an anomaly, said John Simpson, a spokesman for the watchdog group Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights.

"From what I've seen, he's been one who speaks of the science accurately," Simpson said.

As president of the stem cell agency, Trounson will make around $490,000 a year. He is expected to start work full time in late December, agency spokesman Dale Carlson said.

Despite the demanding and highly public nature of the job, Trounson said it was easy to accept the offer from the agency, which came Sept. 14.

"I could continue my research and publish a few papers in the major journals, or I could come here and make my contribution by facilitating the Californian initiative, which is really the epicenter of the whole of stem cell research now," he said.

"I don't think it was really much of a choice."

About the writer:

• The Bee's Jim Downing can be reached at (916) 321-1065 or jdowning@sacbee.com.