[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 191 (Friday, October 2, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53059-53060]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-26422]


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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 a final finding of scientific misconduct in the 
following case:
    Katrina Berezniak, M.A., University of Missouri--St. Louis: Based 
on a report forwarded to the Office of Research Integrity (ORI) by the 
University of Missouri--St. Louis, Ms. Berezniak's own admission, and 
information obtained by ORI during its oversight review, ORI finds that 
Ms. Berezniak, former Research Assistant, Department

[[Page 53060]]

of Psychology, University of Missouri--St. Louis, engaged in scientific 
misconduct in clinical research supported by a National Institute of 
Mental Health (NIMH), National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant.
    Specifically, ORI finds that Ms. Berezniak falsified scoring of 
taped interviews of nine subjects. The scoring was conducted to measure 
interviewer reliability in determining whether the subjects had post-
traumatic stress disorder. The falsified data did not appear in any 
publications nor were they included in the study's database.
    Ms. Berezniak has accepted the ORI finding and has entered into a 
Voluntary Exclusion Agreement with ORI in which she has voluntarily 
agreed, for the two (2) year period beginning September 9, 1998:
    (1) To exclude herself from serving in any advisory capacity to the 
Public Health Service (PHS) including but not limited to service on any 
PHS advisory committee, board, and/or peer review committee, or as a 
consultant; and
    (3) That any institution that submits an application for PHS 
support for a research project on which her participation is proposed 
or uses her in any capacity on PHS supported research, or that submits 
a report of PHS-funded research in which she is involved, must 
concurrently submit a plan for supervision of her duties to the funding 
agency for approval. The supervisory plan must be designed to ensure 
the scientific integrity of her research contribution. The institution 
also must submit a copy of the supervisory plan to ORI.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Acting Director, Division of Research 
Investigations, Office of Research Integrity, 5515 Security Lane, Suite 
700, Rockville, MD 20852, (301) 443-5330.
Chris B. Pascal,
Acting Director, Office of Research Integrity.
[FR Doc. 98-26422 Filed 10-1-98; 8:45 am]
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