California voters are being asked to approve $8.4 billion in bonds for immunology research — with half likely going to an institute that currently has just three employees. The California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy was supposed to have 51 staffers by last year but has fallen far short. Critics question whether the institute is ready to responsibly manage billions in public funds.
California's Proposition 38 would authorize $8.4 billion in bonds for immune system disease research, targeting Alzheimer's, cancer, and heart disease. Half of that — $4.2 billion — would likely flow to a single institution: the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy, a private nonprofit affiliated with UCLA. The catch? The institute currently employs just three people, well short of the 51 staffers it had committed to hiring by last year under its own 5-year business plan.
The institute's principal funder is billionaire Gary K. Michelson, MD — who also wrote Prop. 38 and has contributed over $61 million to its campaign. Critics argue the measure is tailor-made for one underprepared organization, bypasses California's established research institutions, and — notably — would exempt the recipient nonprofit from the state's public records and transparency laws.
By the Numbers:
Why it matters: Billions in public money could flow to an institution that is significantly behind its own milestones — and one that would be shielded from public accountability. With federal science funding under pressure, the stakes for getting this right are high.
