Six researchers at the University of California, San Diego, are suing the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research for "tapering" their research funding, ScienceInsider reports.
It adds that the researchers — Don Cleveland, Arshad Desai, Richard Kolodner, Paul Mischel, Karen Oegema, and Bing Ren — say that Ludwig is reducing their funding as it prepares to close its San Diego branch. In their suit, which ScienceInsider has posted, the six allege that this is a breach of Ludwig's affiliation agreement with UCSD — Ludwig researchers are employed both by Ludwig and the host institution, in this case, UCSD. The suit alleges that by tapering funding, Ludwig is breaching its agreement to "provide future financial support for 'continuous, active conduct of medical research' towards a cure for cancer at UCSD."
Ludwig tells ScienceInsider that it is taking steps to close its San Diego branch but that "is honoring its contractual obligations" in doing so and says it will respond to the lawsuit's allegations "in due course."