Dr. Bradley Foerster Career Development Committee Memorandum: “Rising Star,” Tenure Trajectory, and Recommendation to Remove Co-Principal Investigator from NIH ALS Grant (August 26, 2015)

Career Development Committee Memorandum: “Rising Star,” Tenure Trajectory, and Recommendation to Remove Co-Principal Investigator from NIH ALS Grant (August 26, 2015)

On August 26, 2015, a University of Michigan faculty committee convened to review the career development of Dr. Bradley Foerster.

The committee—comprised of senior faculty including Dr. Dan Clauw (Chair), Dr. Eva Feldman, and Dr. Ted Lawrence, Chair of Radiation Oncology—described Dr. Foerster as “a very accomplished junior faculty member” with “a very strong publication record” and noted that he was “clearly a rising star translational researcher” within the Department of Radiology. The committee further concluded that he was “on an excellent trajectory to receive a promotion with tenure” and “a faculty member that is important for both the Department and institution to retain.”

The committee also addressed ongoing issues related to an NIH-funded R01 ALS grant on which Dr. Foerster served as co–principal investigator. The record reflects that the grant had stalled due to conflict involving the co–principal investigator, and that clinical staff involved in the project were unwilling to continue to work with the co–principal investigator.

The committee documented that efforts to resolve the issue had not been successful to date. It concluded that “the only tenable solution” was removal of the co–principal investigator from the grant and noted that the Department had the authority to implement that resolution.

At the same time, the committee recorded that Dr. Foerster was considering outside opportunities due to the lack of resolution with respect to the NIH-funded grant and broader concerns regarding departmental support.

Taken together, the memorandum reflects that Dr. Foerster’s academic and clinical trajectory was strongly supported at the faculty level, while a significant grant-related conflict remained unresolved despite a clearly identified solution.

Exhibit 1 — Career Development Committee Memorandum (August 26, 2015), Page 1

UM Career Development Committee memo 2015 - Foerster rising star tenure trajectory important to retain and need to remove co-principal investigator from NIH Grant #1

Exhibit 1: Career Development Committee memorandum page describing Dr. Foerster as a “rising star,” on a trajectory for promotion with tenure, and important for the institution to retain , recommending removal of the co–principal investigator from the NIH ALS grant as the “only tenable solution.”

Exhibit 2 — Career Development Committee Memorandum (August 26, 2015), Page 2

Exhibit 2: Career Development Committee memorandum page recommending removal of the co–principal investigator from the NIH ALS grant.

Follow-Up

Following issuance of this memorandum, the Chair of Radiology, Dr. Reed Dunnick, advised Dr. Foerster that the co–principal investigator would be removed from the NIH ALS grant. The record reflects that this action was not implemented.

The grant-related conflict remained unresolved during the period of the University’s Office for Institutional Equity (OIE)—the University’s Title IX office—investigation in 2015–2016.

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