James Sherley
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James Sherley, Ph.D, M.D, is a biological engineer and an associate professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Sherley's education includes an MD and a PhD as well as being a 1993 Pew Scholar. He is open about his opposition to embryonic stem cell research, and instead, Sherley's research focuses on the molecular and biochemical mechanisms of adult stem cells. In 2006 he stated that cloning human embryos was wrong and that the research from embryonic stem cell research would not lead to a cure all. "Despite similar misinformation to the contrary, adult stem cell research is a viable and vibrant path to new medical therapies. Even calling them an alternative to embryonic stem cells misinforms the public." [1]
In February 2007, Sherley announced he would protest MIT's decision to not grant him tenure by going on a hunger strike. [2]
Sherley, an African-American, is one of only 23 black professors at MIT. As of October 2006, of the 988 faculty members, 165 or about 17% are ethnic minorities.[3] He has stated that he believes that MIT has not given him the freedom to challenge scientific orthodoxy the way the institution would have for a white colleague. However, senior colleagues in his department who work in the area of adult stem cells provided over $1,000,000 to fund Sherley's work with adult stem cells so that he could test his new theories. Some other colleagues and professors have defended Sherley, including MIT linguistics professor Noam Chomsky and Harvard medical school's George Church. [4] Twenty senior faculty members who participated in evaluation of his tenure case issued a public statement saying that Sherley's evaluation was conducted with integrity and that he was treated fairly [5]
