Findings of Research Misconduct, 73035-73037 [2023-23464]
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 204 / Tuesday, October 24, 2023 / Notices
Members of the public
interested in providing comments can
do so by accessing the public comment
web page at: www.aap.org/en/forms/
bright-futures-american-academy-ofpediatrics-recommendations-preventivehealth-care/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Savannah Kidd, M.S., M.F.T.; Senior
Public Health Analyst; Division of
Child, Adolescent, and Family Health;
Maternal and Child Health Bureau;
HRSA; email: SKidd@hrsa.gov,
telephone: 301–287–2601.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Bright
Futures Periodicity Schedule is
maintained through a cooperative
agreement, the Infant, Child, and
Adolescent Preventive Services
Program, for which the American
Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is the
current recipient. When its preventive
care and screening recommendations
have been accepted by HRSA, the Bright
Futures Periodicity Schedule is part of
the HRSA-supported preventive services
guidelines for infants, children, and
adolescents. Under section 2713 of the
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
300gg–13) and pertinent regulations,
non-grandfathered group health plans
and health insurance issuers must
provide coverage, without cost sharing,
for certain preventive services for plan
years (in the individual market, policy
years) that begin on or after the date that
is 1 year after the date the
recommendation or guideline is issued.
These include HRSA-supported
preventive health services provided for
in the Bright Futures Periodicity
Schedule as part of the HRSA-supported
preventive services guidelines for
infants, children, and adolescents under
42 U.S.C. 300gg–13(a)(3).
Through the Infant, Child, and
Adolescent Preventive Services
cooperative agreement, the AAP is
required to administer a process for
developing and regularly
recommending, as needed, updates to
the Bright Futures Periodicity Schedule
through a comprehensive, objective, and
transparent review of available evidence
that incorporates opportunity for public
comment. Accordingly, AAP reviews
the evidence to determine whether
updates are needed, develops
recommended updates, seeks and
considers public comments, and makes
recommendations to HRSA. The
proposed update to the Bright Futures
Periodicity Schedule includes additions
to existing footnotes, which provide upto-date information and
recommendations to providers but will
not change the clinical
recommendations and associated
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requirement for coverage without costsharing under section 2713 of the Public
Health Service Act. The footnotes that
AAP proposes to be revised are as
follows:
1. Footnote 4, relating to the first
week well-child visit, also called the 3–
5 Day Visit, will be revised with an
updated reference that aligns with the
Bright Futures recommendation
regarding providers helping families
that choose to breastfeed.
2. Footnote 5, relating to Body Mass
Index, is the Clinical Practice Guideline
for the Evaluation and Treatment of
Children and Adolescents with Obesity
(https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2022060640) published in the January 2023
issue of Pediatrics. This updated
reference aligns with the Bright Futures
recommendation regarding measuring
body mass index starting at the 24month visit through the 21-year visit
and provides non-stigmatizing
recommendations for evaluating and
treating children who are experiencing
weight gains.
3. Footnote 14, relating to Behavioral/
Social/Emotional Screening, is the U.S.
Preventive Services Task Force
Recommendation Statement, Screening
for Anxiety in Children and Adolescents
(https://www.uspreventiveservicestask
force.org/uspstf/recommendation/
screening-anxiety-children-adolescents)
published in the October 2022 issue of
the Journal of the American Medical
Association. This additional reference
aligns with the Bright Futures
recommendation to use screening
instruments to better identify children
experiencing anxiety, followed by a
confirmatory diagnostic assessment and
follow-up.
4. Footnote 15, relating to Tobacco,
Alcohol, or Drug Use Assessment, is the
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention’s Evidence-Based Strategies
for Preventing Opioid Overdose: What’s
Working in the United States (https://
www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/pdf/pubs/
2018-evidence-based-strategies.pdf) and
the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s
policy brief, Naloxone for Opioid
Overdose: Life-Saving Science (https://
nida.nih.gov/publications/naloxoneopioid-overdose-life-saving-science).
The proposed footnote aligns with the
Bright Futures recommendation to
assess patients for substance use with a
validated screening tool. These
additional references also describe the
utility of prescribing Naloxone if there
is concern for substance or opioid use.
5. Footnote 21, relating to Newborn
Bilirubin Screening, is Management of
Hyperbilirubinemia in the Newborn
Infant 35 or More Weeks of Gestation
(https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2022-
PO 00000
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058859), published in the August 2022
issue of Pediatrics. This reference aligns
with the Bright Futures
recommendation for universal bilirubin
screening for all newborn infants
between 24 and 28 hours after birth.
6. Footnote 35, relating to Oral Health,
is Maintaining and Improving the Oral
Health of Young Children (https://
doi.org/10.1542/peds.2022-060417),
published in the December 2022 issue of
Pediatrics. This reference aligns with
the Bright Futures recommendation that
every child has a dental home by 1 year
of age. Additionally, the updated
reference encourages providers to screen
for social determinants of health, as well
as access to medical and dental care, as
they influence oral health status and
oral health inequities.
With respect to Footnote 15, HRSA
welcomes comment on the evidence
regarding the effect of prescribing
Naloxone in the setting of a primary
care preventive visit on preventing or
reducing opioid overdoses and opioid
overdose deaths.
Authority: Section 2713(a)(3) of the
Public Health Service Act, 42 U.S.C.
300gg–13(a)(3).
Carole Johnson,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2023–23396 Filed 10–23–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
Office of the Secretary
Findings of Research Misconduct
Office of the Secretary, HHS.
Notice.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
Findings of research
misconduct have been made against
Lara S. Hwa, Ph.D. (Respondent), who is
an Assistant Professor, Department of
Psychology and Neuroscience, Baylor
University (BU), and formerly was a
Postdoctoral Fellow, School of
Medicine, University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill (UNC–CH). Respondent
engaged in research misconduct in
research supported by U.S. Public
Health Service (PHS) funds, specifically
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and
Alcoholism (NIAAA), National
Institutes of Health (NIH), grants K99/
R00 AA027576, T32 AA007573, F31
AA027129, F32 AA026485, R01
AA019454, U01 AA020911, R01
AA025582, and P60 AA011605 and
included in two grant applications
submitted for PHS funds, specifically
K99 AA027576 submitted to NIAAA,
NIH, and R01 DK136486 submitted to
SUMMARY:
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 204 / Tuesday, October 24, 2023 / Notices
the National Institute of Diabetes and
Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK),
NIH. The administrative actions,
including supervision for a period of
four (4) years, were implemented
beginning on August 24, 2023, and are
detailed below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Sheila Garrity, JD, MPH, MBA, Director,
Office of Research Integrity, 1101
Wootton Parkway, Suite 240, Rockville,
MD 20852, (240) 453–8200.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is
hereby given that the Office of Research
Integrity (ORI) has taken final action in
the following case:
Lara S. Hwa, Ph.D., Baylor University
and University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill: Based on the report of an
investigation conducted by BU and
UNC–CH and additional analysis
conducted by ORI in its oversight
review, ORI found that Lara S. Hwa,
Ph.D., who is an Assistant Professor,
Department of Psychology and
Neuroscience, BU, and formerly was a
Postdoctoral Fellow, School of
Medicine, UNC–CH, engaged in
research misconduct in research
supported by PHS funds, specifically
NIAAA, NIH, grants K99/R00
AA027576, T32 AA007573, F31
AA027129, F32 AA026485, R01
AA019454, U01 AA020911, R01
AA025582, and P60 AA011605 and
included in two grant applications
submitted for PHS funds, specifically
K99 AA027576 submitted to NIAAA,
NIH, and R01 DK136486 submitted to
NIDDK, NIH.
ORI found that Respondent engaged
in research misconduct by knowingly or
recklessly falsifying and/or fabricating
data, methods, results, and conclusions
in animal models of alcohol use
disorders. Specifically, Respondent
falsified and/or fabricated experimental
timelines, group conditions, sex of
animal subjects, mouse strains, and
behavioral response data in the
following two (2) published papers and
two (2) PHS grant applications:
• Alcohol Drinking Alters Stress
Response to Predator Odor via BNST
Kappa Opioid Receptor Signaling in
Male Mice. Elife. 2020 Jul 21;9:e59709.
doi: 10.7554/eLife.59709 (hereafter
referred to as ‘‘Elife 2020’’). Retraction
in: Elife. 2021 Nov 2;10:e74986. doi:
10.7554/eLife.74986.
• Predator Odor Increases Avoidance
and Glutamatergic Synaptic
Transmission in the Prelimbic Cortex
via Corticotropin-releasing Factor
Receptor 1 Signaling.
Neuropyschopharmacology. 2019
Mar;44(4):766–775. doi: 10.1038/
s41386–018–0279–2 (hereafter referred
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:08 Oct 23, 2023
Jkt 262001
to as ‘‘Neuropyschopharmacology
2019’’).
• K99/R00 AA027576, ‘‘Long-term
Alcohol Drinking Alters Stress
Engagement of BNST Circuit Elements,’’
submitted to NIAAA, NIH, Funding
Period: September 20, 2019–August 31,
2024.
• R01 DK136486, ‘‘Neuropeptide
Characterization of Limited Access
Sugar Drinking in Mice,’’ submitted to
NIDDK, NIH, administratively
withdrawn on December 9, 2022.
Specifically, ORI finds that
Respondent knowingly or recklessly:
• Falsified blood ethanol (alcohol)
concentration results by using
female dynorphin mice from an
unrelated study to represent ethanol
concentrations in male wildtype
mice in Figure 1D of Elife 2020
• Falsified ethanol drinking ranges by
including mice that drank outside
of the range reported in Figures 2C,
4, and 6 of Elife 2020 and Figure 4
of K99 AA027576
• Falsified ethanol withdrawal times by
including mice undergoing a broad
range of withdrawal durations but
reporting different withdrawal
parameters in Figures 2C, 4, 6, and
Figure 6–figure supplement 1 of
Elife 2020 and Figure 4 of K99
AA027576
• Falsified and/or fabricated mouse
behavioral data by selectively
switching, omitting, or altering raw
data by:
—Switching mouse location data from
tracking software for water and
ethanol treatment groups in Figures
1F, 1G, and 1H of Elife 2020
—Reporting unrelated heatmap
images of mouse spatial location
from a separate previous study to
falsely demonstrate representative
heatmap images for experimental
conditions reported in Figure 1F of
Elife 2020
—Falsifying or fabricating mouse
location data for 2,4,5, trimethyl-3thiazoline (TMT) (i.e., predator
odorant) contact values in Figures
1G, 3E, and 5I of Elife 2020
• Falsified immunolabeling results for
c-Fos positive nuclei values by
selectively switching or omitting
raw data reported in mouse
prelimbic and infralimbic
subregions in mice previously
exposed to H2O (control), vanilla
(novel odorant), or TMT in Figures
2b, 2c, and 2d of
Neuropsychopharmacology 2019
• Falsified sample size by duplicating
four (4) data points to falsely report
spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic current (sEPSC) frequency
PO 00000
Frm 00050
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
datapoints of electrophysiological
recordings of eight (8) animal
subjects in the water and NBI27914
treatment group in Figure 5f of
Neuropyschopharmacology 2019
and Figure 6 of R01 DK136486
Respondent entered into a Voluntary
Settlement Agreement (Agreement) and
voluntarily agreed to the following:
(1) Respondent will have her research
supervised for a period of four (4) years
beginning on August 24, 2023 (the
‘‘Supervision Period’’). Prior to the
submission of an application for PHS
support for a research project on which
Respondent’s participation is proposed
and prior to Respondent’s participation
in any capacity in PHS-supported
research, Respondent will submit a plan
for supervision of Respondent’s duties
to ORI for approval. The supervision
plan must be designed to ensure the
integrity of Respondent’s research.
Respondent will not participate in any
PHS-supported research until such a
supervision plan is approved by ORI.
Respondent will comply with the
agreed-upon supervision plan.
(2) The requirements for Respondent’s
supervision plan are as follows:
i. A committee of 2–3 senior faculty
members at the institution who are
familiar with Respondent’s field of
research, but not including
Respondent’s supervisor or
collaborators, will provide oversight and
guidance for a period of four (4) years
from the effective date of the
Agreement. The committee will review
primary data from Respondent’s
laboratory on a quarterly basis and
submit a report to ORI at six (6) month
intervals setting forth the committee
meeting dates and Respondent’s
compliance with appropriate research
standards and confirming the integrity
of Respondent’s research.
ii. The committee will conduct an
advance review of each application for
PHS funds, or report, manuscript, or
abstract involving PHS-supported
research in which Respondent is
involved. The review will include a
discussion with Respondent of the
primary data represented in those
documents and will include a
certification to ORI that the data
presented in the proposed application,
report, manuscript, or abstract are
supported by the research record.
(3) During the Supervision Period,
Respondent will ensure that any
institution employing her submits, in
conjunction with each application for
PHS funds, or report, manuscript, or
abstract involving PHS-supported
research in which Respondent is
involved, a certification to ORI that the
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 204 / Tuesday, October 24, 2023 / Notices
data provided by Respondent are based
on actual experiments or are otherwise
legitimately derived and that the data,
procedures, and methodology are
accurately reported and not plagiarized
in the application, report, manuscript,
or abstract.
(4) If no supervision plan is provided
to ORI, Respondent will provide
certification to ORI at the conclusion of
the Supervision Period that her
participation was not proposed on a
research project for which an
application for PHS support was
submitted and that she has not
participated in any capacity in PHSsupported research.
(5) During the Supervision Period,
Respondent will exclude herself
voluntarily from serving in any advisory
or consultant capacity to PHS including,
but not limited to, service on any PHS
advisory committee, board, and/or peer
review committee.
(6) Respondent will request that the
following paper be corrected or
retracted:
• Neuropyschopharmacology. 2019
Mar;44(4):766–775. doi: 10.1038/
s41386–018–0279–2. Respondent will
copy ORI and the Research Integrity
Officer at UNC–CH on the
correspondence with the journal.
Dated: October 19, 2023.
Sheila Garrity,
Director, Office of Research Integrity, Office
of the Assistant Secretary for Health.
[FR Doc. 2023–23464 Filed 10–23–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4150–31–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
National Institutes of Health
ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Center For Scientific Review; Notice of
Closed Meeting
Pursuant to section 1009 of the
Federal Advisory Committee Act, as
amended, notice is hereby given of the
following meeting.
The meeting will be closed to the
public in accordance with the
provisions set forth in sections
552b(c)(4) and 552b(c)(6), title 5 U.S.C.,
as amended. The grant applications and
the discussions could disclose
confidential trade secrets or commercial
property such as patentable material,
and personal information concerning
individuals associated with the grant
applications, the disclosure of which
would constitute a clearly unwarranted
invasion of personal privacy.
Name of Committee: Center for Scientific
Review Special Emphasis Panel; Special
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Topics in Biomaterials, Instrumentation,
Gene and Drug Delivery.
Date: December 8, 2023.
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Agenda: To review and evaluate grant
applications.
Place: National Institutes of Health,
Rockledge II, 6701 Rockledge Drive,
Bethesda, MD 20892 (Virtual Meeting).
Contact Person: Joseph D. Mosca, Ph.D.,
Scientific Review Officer, Center for
Scientific Review, National Institutes of
Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 5158,
MSC 7808, Bethesda, MD 20892, (301) 408–
9465, moscajos@csr.nih.gov.
(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance
Program Nos. 93.306, Comparative Medicine;
93.333, Clinical Research, 93.306, 93.333,
93.337, 93.393–93.396, 93.837–93.844,
93.846–93.878, 93.892, 93.893, National
Institutes of Health, HHS)
Dated: October 19, 2023.
Victoria E. Townsend,
Program Analyst, Office of Federal Advisory
Committee Policy.
[FR Doc. 2023–23422 Filed 10–23–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
National Institutes of Health
Center for Scientific Review; Notice of
Closed Meeting
Pursuant to section 1009 of the
Federal Advisory Committee Act, as
amended, notice is hereby given of the
following meeting.
The meeting will be closed to the
public in accordance with the
provisions set forth in sections
552b(c)(4) and 552b(c)(6), title 5 U.S.C.,
as amended. The grant applications and
the discussions could disclose
confidential trade secrets or commercial
property such as patentable material,
and personal information concerning
individuals associated with the grant
applications, the disclosure of which
would constitute a clearly unwarranted
invasion of personal privacy.
Name of Committee: Center for Scientific
Review Special Emphasis Panel; Member
Conflict: Respiratory Sciences.
Date: December 14, 2023.
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Agenda: To review and evaluate grant
applications.
Place: National Institutes of Health,
Rockledge II, 6701 Rockledge Drive,
Bethesda, MD 20892 (Virtual Meeting).
Contact Person: Ghenima Dirami, Ph.D.,
Scientific Review Officer, Center for
Scientific Review, National Institutes of
Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 4122,
MSC 7814, Bethesda, MD 20892, 240–498–
7546, diramig@csr.nih.gov.
(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance
Program Nos. 93.306, Comparative Medicine;
PO 00000
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93.333, Clinical Research, 93.306, 93.333,
93.337, 93.393–93.396, 93.837–93.844,
93.846–93.878, 93.892, 93.893, National
Institutes of Health, HHS)
Dated: October 19, 2023.
Melanie J. Pantoja,
Program Analyst, Office of Federal Advisory
Committee Policy.
[FR Doc. 2023–23424 Filed 10–23–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
National Institutes of Health
National Human Genome Research
Institute; Amended Notice of Meeting
Notice is hereby given of a change in
the meeting of the National Human
Genome Research Institute, Center for
Inherited Disease Research Access
Committee, November 3, 2023, 11:30
a.m. to 12:30 p.m., National Institutes of
Health, National Human Genome
Research Institute, 6700B Rockledge
Drive, Room 3172, Bethesda, MD 20892,
which was published in the Federal
Register on September 28, 2023, FR
DOC 2023–21148, 88 FR 66863.
The National Human Genome
Research Institute, Center for Inherited
Disease Research Access Committee
meeting is being rescheduled due to
panel member availability. The meeting
date and time has been changed to
November 9, 2023, from 2:00 p.m. to
3:00 p.m. This meeting will be closed to
the public.
Dated: October 19, 2023.
Melanie J. Pantoja,
Program Analyst, Office of Federal Advisory
Committee Policy.
[FR Doc. 2023–23423 Filed 10–23–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
National Institutes of Health
National Institute of Diabetes and
Digestive and Kidney Diseases; Notice
of Closed Meeting
Pursuant to section 1009 of the
Federal Advisory Committee Act, as
amended, notice is hereby given of the
following meeting.
The meeting will be closed to the
public in accordance with the
provisions set forth in sections
552b(c)(4) and 552b(c)(6), title 5 U.S.C.,
as amended. The grant applications and
the discussions could disclose
confidential trade secrets or commercial
property such as patentable material,
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 204 (Tuesday, October 24, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73035-73037]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-23464]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Office of the Secretary
Findings of Research Misconduct
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, HHS.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Findings of research misconduct have been made against Lara S.
Hwa, Ph.D. (Respondent), who is an Assistant Professor, Department of
Psychology and Neuroscience, Baylor University (BU), and formerly was a
Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH). Respondent engaged in research misconduct in
research supported by U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) funds,
specifically National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
(NIAAA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), grants K99/R00 AA027576,
T32 AA007573, F31 AA027129, F32 AA026485, R01 AA019454, U01 AA020911,
R01 AA025582, and P60 AA011605 and included in two grant applications
submitted for PHS funds, specifically K99 AA027576 submitted to NIAAA,
NIH, and R01 DK136486 submitted to
[[Page 73036]]
the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
(NIDDK), NIH. The administrative actions, including supervision for a
period of four (4) years, were implemented beginning on August 24,
2023, and are detailed below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sheila Garrity, JD, MPH, MBA,
Director, Office of Research Integrity, 1101 Wootton Parkway, Suite
240, Rockville, MD 20852, (240) 453-8200.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is hereby given that the Office of
Research Integrity (ORI) has taken final action in the following case:
Lara S. Hwa, Ph.D., Baylor University and University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill: Based on the report of an investigation
conducted by BU and UNC-CH and additional analysis conducted by ORI in
its oversight review, ORI found that Lara S. Hwa, Ph.D., who is an
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, BU, and
formerly was a Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Medicine, UNC-CH, engaged
in research misconduct in research supported by PHS funds, specifically
NIAAA, NIH, grants K99/R00 AA027576, T32 AA007573, F31 AA027129, F32
AA026485, R01 AA019454, U01 AA020911, R01 AA025582, and P60 AA011605
and included in two grant applications submitted for PHS funds,
specifically K99 AA027576 submitted to NIAAA, NIH, and R01 DK136486
submitted to NIDDK, NIH.
ORI found that Respondent engaged in research misconduct by
knowingly or recklessly falsifying and/or fabricating data, methods,
results, and conclusions in animal models of alcohol use disorders.
Specifically, Respondent falsified and/or fabricated experimental
timelines, group conditions, sex of animal subjects, mouse strains, and
behavioral response data in the following two (2) published papers and
two (2) PHS grant applications:
Alcohol Drinking Alters Stress Response to Predator Odor
via BNST Kappa Opioid Receptor Signaling in Male Mice. Elife. 2020 Jul
21;9:e59709. doi: 10.7554/eLife.59709 (hereafter referred to as ``Elife
2020''). Retraction in: Elife. 2021 Nov 2;10:e74986. doi: 10.7554/
eLife.74986.
Predator Odor Increases Avoidance and Glutamatergic
Synaptic Transmission in the Prelimbic Cortex via Corticotropin-
releasing Factor Receptor 1 Signaling. Neuropyschopharmacology. 2019
Mar;44(4):766-775. doi: 10.1038/s41386-018-0279-2 (hereafter referred
to as ``Neuropyschopharmacology 2019'').
K99/R00 AA027576, ``Long-term Alcohol Drinking Alters
Stress Engagement of BNST Circuit Elements,'' submitted to NIAAA, NIH,
Funding Period: September 20, 2019-August 31, 2024.
R01 DK136486, ``Neuropeptide Characterization of Limited
Access Sugar Drinking in Mice,'' submitted to NIDDK, NIH,
administratively withdrawn on December 9, 2022.
Specifically, ORI finds that Respondent knowingly or recklessly:
Falsified blood ethanol (alcohol) concentration results by
using female dynorphin mice from an unrelated study to represent
ethanol concentrations in male wildtype mice in Figure 1D of Elife 2020
Falsified ethanol drinking ranges by including mice that drank
outside of the range reported in Figures 2C, 4, and 6 of Elife 2020 and
Figure 4 of K99 AA027576
Falsified ethanol withdrawal times by including mice
undergoing a broad range of withdrawal durations but reporting
different withdrawal parameters in Figures 2C, 4, 6, and Figure 6-
figure supplement 1 of Elife 2020 and Figure 4 of K99 AA027576
Falsified and/or fabricated mouse behavioral data by
selectively switching, omitting, or altering raw data by:
--Switching mouse location data from tracking software for water
and ethanol treatment groups in Figures 1F, 1G, and 1H of Elife 2020
--Reporting unrelated heatmap images of mouse spatial location from
a separate previous study to falsely demonstrate representative heatmap
images for experimental conditions reported in Figure 1F of Elife 2020
--Falsifying or fabricating mouse location data for 2,4,5,
trimethyl-3-thiazoline (TMT) (i.e., predator odorant) contact values in
Figures 1G, 3E, and 5I of Elife 2020
Falsified immunolabeling results for c-Fos positive nuclei
values by selectively switching or omitting raw data reported in mouse
prelimbic and infralimbic subregions in mice previously exposed to H2O
(control), vanilla (novel odorant), or TMT in Figures 2b, 2c, and 2d of
Neuropsychopharmacology 2019
Falsified sample size by duplicating four (4) data points to
falsely report spontaneous excitatory post-synaptic current (sEPSC)
frequency datapoints of electrophysiological recordings of eight (8)
animal subjects in the water and NBI27914 treatment group in Figure 5f
of Neuropyschopharmacology 2019 and Figure 6 of R01 DK136486
Respondent entered into a Voluntary Settlement Agreement
(Agreement) and voluntarily agreed to the following:
(1) Respondent will have her research supervised for a period of
four (4) years beginning on August 24, 2023 (the ``Supervision
Period''). Prior to the submission of an application for PHS support
for a research project on which Respondent's participation is proposed
and prior to Respondent's participation in any capacity in PHS-
supported research, Respondent will submit a plan for supervision of
Respondent's duties to ORI for approval. The supervision plan must be
designed to ensure the integrity of Respondent's research. Respondent
will not participate in any PHS-supported research until such a
supervision plan is approved by ORI. Respondent will comply with the
agreed-upon supervision plan.
(2) The requirements for Respondent's supervision plan are as
follows:
i. A committee of 2-3 senior faculty members at the institution who
are familiar with Respondent's field of research, but not including
Respondent's supervisor or collaborators, will provide oversight and
guidance for a period of four (4) years from the effective date of the
Agreement. The committee will review primary data from Respondent's
laboratory on a quarterly basis and submit a report to ORI at six (6)
month intervals setting forth the committee meeting dates and
Respondent's compliance with appropriate research standards and
confirming the integrity of Respondent's research.
ii. The committee will conduct an advance review of each
application for PHS funds, or report, manuscript, or abstract involving
PHS-supported research in which Respondent is involved. The review will
include a discussion with Respondent of the primary data represented in
those documents and will include a certification to ORI that the data
presented in the proposed application, report, manuscript, or abstract
are supported by the research record.
(3) During the Supervision Period, Respondent will ensure that any
institution employing her submits, in conjunction with each application
for PHS funds, or report, manuscript, or abstract involving PHS-
supported research in which Respondent is involved, a certification to
ORI that the
[[Page 73037]]
data provided by Respondent are based on actual experiments or are
otherwise legitimately derived and that the data, procedures, and
methodology are accurately reported and not plagiarized in the
application, report, manuscript, or abstract.
(4) If no supervision plan is provided to ORI, Respondent will
provide certification to ORI at the conclusion of the Supervision
Period that her participation was not proposed on a research project
for which an application for PHS support was submitted and that she has
not participated in any capacity in PHS-supported research.
(5) During the Supervision Period, Respondent will exclude herself
voluntarily from serving in any advisory or consultant capacity to PHS
including, but not limited to, service on any PHS advisory committee,
board, and/or peer review committee.
(6) Respondent will request that the following paper be corrected
or retracted:
Neuropyschopharmacology. 2019 Mar;44(4):766-775. doi:
10.1038/s41386-018-0279-2. Respondent will copy ORI and the Research
Integrity Officer at UNC-CH on the correspondence with the journal.
Dated: October 19, 2023.
Sheila Garrity,
Director, Office of Research Integrity, Office of the Assistant
Secretary for Health.
[FR Doc. 2023-23464 Filed 10-23-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4150-31-P
