The Stanford Daily: Stanford Medicine professor (José Montoya) fired for violating University rules of conduct (june 2019)

chrisb said:
Does anyone know what sort of funds the ME/CFS Initiative had, and the extent to which these were at Montoya's discretion. As he will be unable to continue his lines of research will they automatically cease? It looks as if he "was" the unit and it is hard to see how it could continue in his absence. What happens to any reserves of funds, do they revert to the donors, or are they applied to other work?
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If it's a charity or not for profit organisation, the funds are normally ringfenced so would have to go on ME. It may be that there's a clause that they have to donate any unspent monies to other charities with similar aims. Failing that, it would presumably go back to funders in due proportion (e.g., if one person funded 50%, then they'd get 50% of what's left).

This is my best guess based on what happens to public funding in the arts.
 
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In a field with so few expert researchers, this is a significant loss. How awful.

One may indeed see these various obstacles, as some kind of "curse" on our community.

Of course we know there are many with vested interests who would wish no biomedical progress be made.

Not saying though that this was the case in this particular instance.
 
"His termination occurred after an investigation, led by an outside attorney and an unnamed Stanford faculty member, found what Singh called “multiple violations of the University’s conduct policies.” The investigation was launched in response to “complaints relating to his conduct,” according to the email. Per University policy, Montoya has the right to appeal this decision."

https://www.stanforddaily.com/2019/...ed-for-violating-university-rules-of-conduct/
 
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I am very surprised and disappointed to read of these allegations. I don’t think Montoya’s research will continue and question whether the ME clinic will either.
 
Are Stanford not very good at news management, or are they unaware of the level of interest that this decision will engender? It would seem reasonable to have expected some statement with regard to consequential effects of the decision, such as interim measures for continuance of the unit pending the outcome of any appeal. It will be of little comfort to win an appeal if everything has been closed down in the meantime, and, it the cynical might take the view that measures taken now might have a bearing on the outcome of appeal. Everyone is influenced, one way or another, by external factors.

There will be many patients with time and money invested in this research, not to mention all those merely with an interest in any findings. They should not have been left in uncertainty.
 
sea said:
The articles appear to be coming from student run news, I’m not sure how much oversight there is to what is written. I would have thought much of the detail should not be public especially even before the decision is appealed.
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I made no comment regarding the rectitude of the decision or the facts of the case. If the organisation fails to provide information with regard to any potential damage that may arise from the decision, pending appeal, people are entitled to speculate. There is little point in obtaining restitution if there is nothing to be "restituted" to.
 
chrisb said:
I made no comment regarding the rectitude of the decision or the facts of the case. If the organisation fails to provide information with regard to any potential damage that may arise from the decision, pending appeal, people are entitled to speculate. There is little point in obtaining restitution if there is nothing to be "restituted" to.
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I’m not saying people shouldn’t speculate. I’m agreeing with you about their news management and wondering if they were even aware of what the students were publishing. I also agree they should be informing anyone who is affected by the fallout what they plan to do moving forward..
 
MEAction Support Call
#MEAction is hosting a support call on Friday, June 7th at 1pm PT in light of Stanford University's recent announcement about personnel changes that will impact the university's ME/CFS clinic and the studies performed there. If you saw Dr. Montoya as a patient or just want to talk we hope to see you there.

Please note, we have no new information about Dr Montoya. This is only a support call for people affected by the personnel change to come together and discuss other options for care.
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https://my.meaction.net/events/meac...z5abzZMaGPV-vs63KEiPXAxl4v7JwkljDUFoEi7yDbvJs
 
Well that’s very disappointing. If true, and generally I’m inclined to believe such accusations as a starting point, particularly if it’s more than one person, it’s not only a horrible set of actions but also deeply irresponsible to the patients who are now without a doctor for ongoing care.

My understanding is that being within the Stanford system means that patients who need financial aid or have little / no insurance are able to be seen there, where this is generally not the case in other specialised private practice. What a mess.
 
So disappointing. For all those women, of course, it’s a tragedy. And for all ME/CFS patients across the world, it’s a huge loss.

I can’t wait until those stories of sexual harassment become a rare event. It seems everywhere you look, there is sexual misconduct. So sad, really.
 
If true (and i am inclined to believe it is) then he has harmed both his victims and his ME research (which means all of us).
We cannot in good conscience prioritize our well being over assault victims.

When people commit crimes they affect more then themselves, it causes ripples. And everyone pays the price.
I hope his victims get the best care possible for the harms they have suffered.
 
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