[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 53 (Monday, March 18, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Page 11010]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-6372]



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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Office of the Secretary


Findings of Scientific Misconduct

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Office of Research Integrity 
(ORI) has made final findings of scientific misconduct in the following 
case:
    Cathy Q. Lee, Massachusetts General Hospital: On February 28, 1996, 
ORI found that Cathy Q. Lee, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, Molecular 
Endocrinology Laboratory at the Massachusetts General Hospital, 
committed scientific misconduct by engaging in falsification and 
fabrication of research data incorporated in a manuscript prepared for 
submission (but not submitted) to the EMBO Journal (Lee, C.Q., Yun, Y., 
and Habener, J.F. ``Transactivation of functions of cAMP-responsive 
transcription factor CREB-327 mediated by amphiphatic helical domains 
flanking the requisite serine-119 phosphorylated by protein kinase-
A.'') and by engaging in improper data selection and falsification of 
data published in the EMBO Journal (Lee, C.Q., Yun, Y., Hoeffler, J.P., 
and Habener, J.F. ``Cyclic-AMP responsive transcriptional activation of 
CREB-327 involves interdependent phosphorylated subdomains.'' EMBO 
Journal 9:4455-4465, 1990.). This research was supported by a Public 
Health Service grant.
    Dr. Lee has entered into a Voluntary Exclusion Agreement with ORI 
in settlement of ORI's finding of scientific misconduct and has agreed:
    (1) To exclude herself voluntarily from any contracting or 
subcontracting with any agency of the United States Government and from 
eligibility for, or involvement in, Federal nonprocurement transactions 
(e.g., grants and cooperative agreements) of the United States 
Government, as defined in 45 C.F.R. Part 76 and 48 C.F.R. Subparts 9.4 
and 309.4 (Debarment Regulations) for a period of two (2) years 
beginning on February 28, 1996; the above voluntary exclusion, however, 
shall not apply to Dr. Lee's future clinical laboratory training or 
practice, unless that training or practice involves research or 
research training;
    (2) That for a period of one (1) year beginning immediately after 
the two (2) year voluntary exclusion above, any institution that 
submits an application for PHS support for a research project on which 
the Respondent's participation is proposed or which uses the Respondent 
in any capacity on PHS supported research, must concurrently submit a 
plan for supervision of the Respondent's duties; the supervisory plan 
must be designed to ensure the scientific integrity of the Respondent's 
research contribution, and the institution must submit a copy of the 
supervisory plan to ORI; and
    (3) To exclude herself voluntarily 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 for a period of three (3) years beginning on February 28, 
1996.
    A letter retracting the article entitled ``Cyclic-AMP responsive 
transcriptional activation of CREB-327 involves interdependent 
phosphorylated subdomains'' (EMBO Journal 9:4455-4465, 1990) has been 
published in the EMBO Journal (EMBO Journal 13:2736, 1994).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Director, Division of Research 
Investigations, Office of Research Integrity, 5515 Security Lane, Suite 
700, Rockville, MD 20852.
Lyle W. Bivens,
Director, Office of Research Integrity.
[FR Doc. 96-6372 Filed 3-15-96; 8:45 am]
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