US research facility backs out of IIT-Madras event on cancer after Ramdev is named chief guest
The MD Anderson Cancer Centre said it was no longer a sponsor for the event, and that its name and logo were being used without permission.
Texas-based research and treatment facility MD Anderson Cancer Center has backed out of an international cancer conference hosted by the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras after yoga guru Ramdev was invited to be the chief guest of the event.
In response to the co-founder of RetractionWatch, a blog, MD Anderson Cancer Center tweeted that it was no longer a sponsor for Thursday’s 7th International Translational Cancer Research Conference at IIT-M. The centre also claimed that its name and logo were being used by the organisers without its permission.
We are looking into this so we can get more details about the conference.
— MD Anderson Cancer Center (@MDAndersonNews) February 4, 2018
In the past, MD Anderson has sponsored this conference through its Global Academic Program. But this year, we’re not a sponsor. Our name and logo are being used without permission, and we’ve requested they be removed from promotional materials. (1/2)
— MD Anderson Cancer Center (@MDAndersonNews) February 4, 2018
The centre also said that its faculty were involved in the event on “their own personal time”. Varsha Gandhi and Sen Pathak, two faculty members of the MD Anderson Cancer Centre, have been listed as organisers of the event, The New Indian Express reported.
In November 2017, Ramdev had agreed with Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who had said that cancer was the result of sins committed in the past life. Ramdev has also claimed that yoga could cure the disease.
