Findings of Research Misconduct, 5161 [E9-1819]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 18 / Thursday, January 29, 2009 / Notices
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Office of the Secretary
Findings of Research Misconduct
Office of the Secretary, HHS.
Notice.
AGENCY:
rmajette on PRODPC74 with NOTICES
ACTION:
SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that
the Office of Research Integrity (ORI)
and the Assistant Secretary for Health
have taken final action in the following
case:
Nima Afshar, PhD., University of
California, San Francisco: Based on a
University of California, San Francisco
(UCSF) report and Respondent’s own
admission, the U.S. Public Health
Service (PHS) found that Dr. Nima
Afshar, former postdoctoral fellow at
UCSF engaged in research misconduct
in research supported by National
Cancer Institute (NCI), National
Institutes of Health (NIH), grant T32
CA108462 and National Institute of
General Medical Sciences (NIGMS),
NIH, grant R01 GM59704.
PHS found that Respondent engaged
in research misconduct in the
performance of research on yeast to test
whether disruption of the tight controls,
to prevent re-replication, on the
initiation of DNA replication could
produce gene amplifications with a
copy number greater than two (2).
Specifically, Respondent falsified files
containing raw scanned microarray
images from another researcher’s
experiments to demonstrate that in
experiments that she claimed to have
conducted, she successfully observed
gene amplifications with a copy number
greater than two (2); there were 36 such
instances of falsifying data files.
Dr. Afshar has entered into a
Voluntary Settlement Agreement in
which she has voluntarily agreed, for a
period of three (3) years, beginning on
December 22, 2008:
(1) To exclude herself from serving in
any advisory capacity to PHS, including
but not limited to service on any PHS
advisory committee, board, and/or peer
review committee, or as a consultant;
and
(2) that any institution that submits an
application for PHS support for a
research project on which the
Respondent’s participation is proposed
or that uses the Respondent in any
capacity on PHS supported research, or
that submits a report of PHS-funded
research in which the Respondent is
involved, must concurrently submit a
plan for supervision of the Respondent’s
duties to the funding agency for
approval. The supervisory plan must be
VerDate Nov<24>2008
15:25 Jan 28, 2009
Jkt 217001
designed to ensure the scientific
integrity of the Respondent’s research
contribution. Respondent agrees to
ensure that a copy of the supervisory
plan also is submitted to ORI by the
institution for ORI approval.
Respondent agrees that she will not
participate in any PHS-supported
research until such a supervisory plan is
submitted to ORI.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Director, Division of Investigative
Oversight, Office of Research Integrity,
1101 Wootton Parkway, Suite 750,
Rockville, MD 20852, (240) 453–8800.
John E. Dahlberg,
Acting Director, Office of Research Integrity.
[FR Doc. E9–1819 Filed 1–28–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4150–31–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Office of the Secretary
Findings of Scientific Misconduct
Office of the Secretary, HHS.
Notice.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that
the Office of Research Integrity (ORI)
and the Assistant Secretary for Health
have taken final action in the following
case:
M. Nguyen, M.D., University of
California, Los Angeles: Based on a
University of California, Los Angeles
(UCLA) report and Respondent’s own
admission, the U.S. Public Health
Service (PHS) found that Dr. M. Nguyen,
former Associate Professor at UCLA,
engaged in scientific misconduct in
research supported by National Cancer
Institute (NCI), National Institutes of
Health (NIH), grant 1 R01 CA69433,
National Center for Complementary and
Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), NIH,
grant 1 P50 AT00I51–01, and National
Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and
Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), NIH, grant
T32 DK03688.
Specifically, PHS found that
Respondent engaged in scientific
misconduct by:
1. Dr. Nguyen’s laboratory conducted
a single experiment on the effect of
Livistona extract on the growth of 106
mouse fibrosarcoma (FSA) cells injected
into C3H mice. The drug was
administered in the drinking water of
the treated mice and tumor sizes were
measured twice weekly with calipers.
Dr. Nguyen falsified and fabricated the
results of this experiment in Figure 3 of
Oncology Reports 8:1355–1357, 2001:
A. The data reported for the control
group were from an experiment in nude
PO 00000
Frm 00020
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
5161
mice implanted with human breast
tumor implants, rather than with mouse
fibrosarcoma cell implants, as Dr.
Nguyen reported in the paper. The
control data for FSA implanted C3H
mice could not be located in the
laboratory records.
2. Dr. Nguyen’s laboratory conducted
a single experiment on the effect of
Livistona extract on the growth of 108
MDA–MD–231 cells injected into nude
mice. The drug was administered in the
drinking water of the treated mice and
tumor sizes measured twice weekly
with calipers. Dr. Nguyen falsified and
fabricated the results of this experiment
in Figure 9 of NIH grant application P50
AT00151–01, dated May 19, 1999, by:
A. Falsely stating in the associated
text that there were ten mice per group
and that the experiments were repeated
once, while in fact, there were only five
mice per group with no repetition of
this experiment
B. Omitting data on the control curve
for two of the measurement times (at 2
and 3.5 weeks) and falsely reporting the
times at which three other
measurements were taken.
3. Dr. Nguyen’s laboratory conducted
a single experiment (1998–99) testing
the anti-angiogenic effects of Livistona
chinensis extract on human umbilical
vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). HUVEC
cells were counted from duplicate wells
when exposed to extract and controls
were counted from single wells:
A. Figure 8 of NIH grant application
P50 AT00I51–01, dated 5/19/99, plots
the data as a bar graph. However, the
same data were reported in Figure 1 of
Oncology Reports 8:1355–1357, 2001, by
falsely expressing them as the rate of
growth obtained by measuring the
uptake of radioactive thymidine into
cellular DNA and plotting the data as
normalized to control values. UCLA
concluded that Figure 1 was falsified by
claiming the data were obtained by a
state-of-the-art technique not actually
employed by the Respondent to obtain
the data for that figure (Admission).
This falsification did not bear upon the
findings of the paper.
4. Dr. Nguyen’s laboratory tested
whether the levels of bFGF (basic
fibroblast growth factor) and VEGF
(vascular endothelial growth factor) in
nipple fluid aspirates were significantly
elevated in breast cancer patients in
comparison to values from normal
lactating and non-lactating breasts. Dr.
Nguyen falsified the number of subjects
who were lactating in The Lancet
356:567–569, 2000, by claiming that
bFGF data were obtained from four
separate subjects while in fact the data
were from both breasts of two subjects.
E:\FR\FM\29JAN1.SGM
29JAN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 18 (Thursday, January 29, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Page 5161]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-1819]
[[Page 5161]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Office of the Secretary
Findings of Research Misconduct
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, HHS.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Office of Research Integrity
(ORI) and the Assistant Secretary for Health have taken final action in
the following case:
Nima Afshar, PhD., University of California, San Francisco: Based
on a University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) report and
Respondent's own admission, the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) found
that Dr. Nima Afshar, former postdoctoral fellow at UCSF engaged in
research misconduct in research supported by National Cancer Institute
(NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), grant T32 CA108462 and
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), NIH, grant R01
GM59704.
PHS found that Respondent engaged in research misconduct in the
performance of research on yeast to test whether disruption of the
tight controls, to prevent re-replication, on the initiation of DNA
replication could produce gene amplifications with a copy number
greater than two (2).
Specifically, Respondent falsified files containing raw scanned
microarray images from another researcher's experiments to demonstrate
that in experiments that she claimed to have conducted, she
successfully observed gene amplifications with a copy number greater
than two (2); there were 36 such instances of falsifying data files.
Dr. Afshar has entered into a Voluntary Settlement Agreement in
which she has voluntarily agreed, for a period of three (3) years,
beginning on December 22, 2008:
(1) To exclude herself from serving in any advisory capacity to
PHS, including but not limited to service on any PHS advisory
committee, board, and/or peer review committee, or as a consultant; and
(2) that any institution that submits an application for PHS
support for a research project on which the Respondent's participation
is proposed or that uses the Respondent in any capacity on PHS
supported research, or that submits a report of PHS-funded research in
which the Respondent is involved, must concurrently submit a plan for
supervision of the Respondent's duties to the funding agency for
approval. The supervisory plan must be designed to ensure the
scientific integrity of the Respondent's research contribution.
Respondent agrees to ensure that a copy of the supervisory plan also is
submitted to ORI by the institution for ORI approval. Respondent agrees
that she will not participate in any PHS-supported research until such
a supervisory plan is submitted to ORI.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Director, Division of Investigative
Oversight, Office of Research Integrity, 1101 Wootton Parkway, Suite
750, Rockville, MD 20852, (240) 453-8800.
John E. Dahlberg,
Acting Director, Office of Research Integrity.
[FR Doc. E9-1819 Filed 1-28-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4150-31-P
