[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 122 (Friday, June 25, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 35629]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-14475]


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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 Acting Assistant Secretary for Health have taken final 
action in the following case:
    Regina D. Horvat, Ph.D., Northwestern University: Based on the 
report of an inquiry conducted by Northwestern University (NU Report), 
the respondent's admission, and additional analysis conducted by ORI in 
its oversight review, the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) found that 
Regina D. Horvat, Ph.D., former Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Cell 
and Molecular Biology at NU, engaged in scientific misconduct in 
research supported in part by the following National Institute of Child 
Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health 
(NIH) grants: F32 HD041309, RO1 HD38060-01A1, and T32 HD007068.\1\
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    \1\ The T32 award cited in the manuscript was T32 HD21021. A 
search of the CRISP database showed the correct grant number was T32 
HD007068.
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    Specifically, PHS found that:
     Dr. Horvat falsified a western blot of an 
immunoprecipitation (IP) assay presented as Figure 5B in a manuscript 
(``Inhibition of Luteinizing Hormone Receptor Desensitization 
Suppresses the Induction of Ovulatory Response Genes in Granulosa 
Cells'') submitted to Molecular Endocrinology. Dr. Horvat falsely 
labeled an autoradiogram in her laboratory notebook with a piece of 
tape to misrepresent the data from a different IP experiment that was 
actually conducted on October 31, 2001, as the experiment described in 
Figure 5B. Further, Dr. Horvat falsely used Figure 5B in an oral 
presentation at a national scientific meeting; and
     Dr. Horvat falsified the intensity of the band in Lane 6 
of a luteinizing hormone receptor (LHR) Western blot experiment to 
quantitate the level of LHR immunoprecipitated with an arrestin2 
antibody in cells treated with hCG for 30 minutes in the PowerPoint 
figure, prepared in response to the initial review of the Molecular 
Endocrinology manuscript. This manuscript was withdrawn.
    Dr. Horvat has entered into a Voluntary Exclusion Agreement 
(Agreement) in which she has voluntarily agreed for a period of three 
(3) years, beginning on June 2, 2004:
    (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 which 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, 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 is also 
submitted to ORI by the institution. Respondent agrees that she will 
not participate in any PHS-supported research until such a supervision 
plan is submitted to and accepted by ORI.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Director, Division of Investigative 
Oversight, Office of Research Integrity, 1101 Wootton Parkway, Suite 
750, Rockville, MD 20852, (301) 443-5330.

Chris B. Pascal,
Director, Office of Research Integrity.
[FR Doc. 04-14475 Filed 6-24-04; 8:45 am]
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