[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 176 (Monday, September 11, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54852-54853]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-23215]


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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) and the Assistant Secretary for Health have taken final action in 
the following case:
    William A. Simmons, Ph.D., University of Texas Southwestern Medical 
Center: Based on the report of an investigation conducted by the 
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW) and additional 
analysis conducted by ORI in its oversight review, the U.S. Public 
Health Service (PHS) finds that Dr. Simmons engaged in scientific 
misconduct by falsifying research supported by National Institute of 
Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), National Institutes 
of Health (NIH) grant R01 DK47692, National Institute of Arthritis and 
Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), NIH, grants R01 AR38319 and 
P01 AR09989, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases 
(NIAID), NIH, grant R01 AI42860, and National Cancer Institute (NCI), 
NIH, grant T32 CA09082.
    Specifically, while a graduate student and postdoctoral fellow at 
UTSW, Dr. Simmons manipulated results of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) 
assays by adding predetermined amounts of radioactivity to 
scintillation counting vials rather than carrying out the assays as 
claimed.
    As a result of falsifying these assays over a minimum of five 
years, none of Dr. Simmons research can be considered reliable and the 
publications identified below have been, or soon will be, retracted or 
corrected. The falsified research also was reported in the 1 R01 
AI42860-01 grant application, ``A new

[[Page 54853]]

MHC locus influencing class I peptide display.'' Additionally, Dr. 
Simmons was responsible for falsifying Figure 3 published in J. 
Immunol. 159:2750-2759, 1997, by substituting preparations of 
chemically synthesized oligopeptide for natural peptides obtained from 
T cells isolated from B27 transgenic rats. These actions adversely and 
materially affected the laboratory's ongoing research into the role 
that human histocompatibility leukocyte antigens play in the 
development of disease.
    The publications affected are:
     Simmons, W.A., Summerfield, S.G., Roopenian, D.C., 
Slaughter, C.A., Suberi, A.R., Gaskell, S.J., Bordoli, R.S., Hoyes, J., 
Moomaw, C.R., Colbert, R.A., Leong, L.Y., Butcher, C.W., Hammer, R.E., 
& Taurog, J.D. ``Novel HY peptide antigens presented by HLA-B27.'' J. 
Immunol. 159:2750-2759, 1997 (being retracted).
     Simmons, W.A., Leong, L.Y., Satumtira, N., Butcher, G.W., 
Howard, J.C., Richardson., J.A., Slaughter, C.A., Hammer, R.F., & 
Taurog, J.D. ``Rat MHC-linked peptide transporter alleles strongly 
influence peptide binding by HLA-B27 but not B27-associated 
inflammatory disease.'' J. Immunol. 156:1661-1667, 1996 (being 
retracted).
     Simmons, W.A., Roopenian, D.C., Summerfield, S.G., Jones, 
R.C., Galocha, B., Christianson, G.J., Maika, S.D., Zhou, M., Gaskell, 
S.J., Bordoli, R.S., Ploegh, H.L., Slaughter, C.A., Lindahl, K.F., 
Hammer, R.E., & Taurog, J.D. ``A new MHC locus that influences class I 
peptide presentation.'' Immunity 7:641-651, 1997 (retracted).
     Simmons, W.A., Taurog, J.D., Hammer, R.E., & Breban, M. 
``Sharing of an HLA-B27-restricted H-Y antigen between rat and mouse.'' 
Immunogenetics 38:351-358, 1993 (retracted).
     Zhou, M., Sayad, A., Simmons, W.A., Jones, R.C., Maika, 
S.D., Satumtira, N., Dorris, M.L., Gaskell, S.J., Bordoli, R.S., 
Sartor, R.B., Slaughter, C.A., Richardson, J.A., Hammer, R.F., & 
Taurog, J.D. ``The specificity of peptides bound to human 
histocompatibility leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B27 influences the 
prevalence of arthritis in HLA-B27 transgenic rats.'' J. Exp. Med. 
188:877-886, 1998 (published erratum).
    Dr. Simmons has accepted the PHS findings and has entered into a 
Voluntary Exclusion Agreement with PHS in which he has voluntarily 
agreed for a period of five (5) years, beginning on August 22, 2000:
    (1) To exclude himself from any contracting or subcontracting with 
any agency of the United States Government and from eligibility for, or 
involvement in, nonprocurement transactions (e.g., grants and 
cooperative agreements) of the United States Government as defined in 
45 C.F.R. Part 76 (Debarment Regulations);
    (2) to exclude himself 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 FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Director, Division of Investigative 
Oversight, Office of Research Integrity, 5515 Security Lane, Suite 700, 
Rockville, MD 20852, (301) 443-5330.

Chris Pascal,
Director, Office of Research Integrity.
[FR Doc. 00-23215 Filed 9-8-00; 8:45 am]
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