CEO and director of Moffitt Cancer Center resign over ties to China

Moffitt Cancer Center CEO Alan List (left) and Thomas Sellers, the director, (right) resigned amid an investigation into China's influence in U.S. research. (FOX 13 News)

The Florida House of Representatives has launched an investigation into Moffitt Cancer Center and its dealings with Chinese research firms. 

State and federal lawmakers say Moffitt’s partnerships with Chinese interests put valuable taxpayer-funded research at risk. They say Moffitt, which treats cancer patients and conducts critical cancer research with public money, is a prime target for the Chinese government’s ongoing efforts to steal U.S. intellectual property.

An internal investigation at Moffitt found compliance violations and conflicts of interest regarding its partnerships with Chinese entities. Moffitt's president & CEO, Dr. Alan List, director Thomas Sellers, and four researchers abruptly resigned.

In a press release, Moffit’s board chairperson, Timothy Adams, said, “This was an unfortunate but necessary decision.”

“Going forward, this will not damage the future of our research or the care of our patients. We will continue to be careful stewards of the public money entrusted to us for cancer research,” his statement read in part.

The federal government is still investigating, while Florida House Speaker Jose Oliva tapped Pinellas Rep. Chris Sprowls (the next house speaker) to lead the legislative probe.

Sprowls said he wants to find out how much Chinese interests may have been paying Moffitt personnel, what intellectual property may have been exposed.

"I was shocked. I was appalled, and then I was gravely concerned,” said Rep. Sprowls. “When you are approached by someone who says, ‘We would like you to be involved in a monetary relationship by a foreign government,’ that would be something that would raise alarm bells for all of us - whether it was malicious action or whether it was gross negligence, either way, it puts at risk our most precious intellectual property that we’re paying for. We’re going to investigate it. We’re going to investigate it aggressively to make sure it’s not happening in the future.”

In a tweet, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio also raised concerns, stating, “China has undertaken a broad effort to exploit our openness & culture of scientific collaboration to steal valuable scientific research. Sadly Moffitt Cancer Center, a fantastic institution in Florida, was victimized.”

While officials noted they found no indication that intellectual property was compromised, Sprowls said he wants to find out how they think they know that.