[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 106 (Friday, June 3, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32619-32620]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-11017]


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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), the Acting Assistant Secretary for Health, and another Federal 
agency have taken final action in the following case:
    Jason W. Lilly, Ph.D., Boyce Thompson Institute: Based on the 
report of an investigation conducted by the Boyce Thompson Institute 
(BTI Report), the investigation report of another Federal agency, and 
additional analysis conducted by ORI in its oversight review, the U.S. 
Public Health Service (PHS) found that Jason W. Lilly, Ph.D., former 
postdoctoral fellow at BTI, engaged in scientific misconduct in 
research supported by the National Research Service Award, National 
Institutes of Health (NIH) postdoctoral fellowship, F32 GM64276. This 
case has been jointly handled by ORI and another Federal agency under 
the government-wide debarment regulations.
    Specifically, PHS found that:
    A. Dr. Lilly falsified Figure 4, presenting a hierarchical cluster 
analysis of differential mRNA accumulation in cells grown in medium 
deficient in sulfate or phosphate in ``The Chlamydonomas reinhardtii 
organellar genomes respond transcriptionally and post-transcriptionally 
to abiotic stimuli,'' The

[[Page 32620]]

Plant Cell 14:2681:2706, 2002 (hereafter referred to as the Plant Cell 
paper) by claiming it was an average of three experiments when only one 
had been conducted;
    B. Dr. Lilly further falsified Figure 4 of the Plant Cell paper by 
falsely coloring two cells in the blown-up portion of the figure that 
illustrated the induction of high levels of mRNA from the Sac1 gene;
    C. Dr. Lilly falsified the supplemental gene array experiments 
published online claimed to be replicate assays by manipulation of both 
spreadsheet and image data from a single assay to make the altered data 
sufficiently different to appear to be separate assays;
    D. Dr. Lilly falsified the text describing Figure 5 of the Plant 
Cell paper by claiming that the run-on assays had been replicated when 
they had not been;
    E. Dr. Lilly falsified the purported replicates of run-on 
transcription experiments provided in the on-line supplemental material 
by manipulation of a single assay to make the variant versions appear 
different; and
    F. Dr. Lilly falsified Figure 1 of the Plant Cell paper by using 
the same 16S control bands for RNA blots of two different genes (psbF 
and PsaG).
    Dr. Lilly has been debarred by the lead agency for a period of two 
(2) years, beginning on March 4, 2005, and ending on March 4, 2007, and 
has entered into a Voluntary Exclusion Agreement (Agreement ) with PHS 
in which he has voluntarily agreed:
    (1) 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 consultant, for a period of 
four (4) years, beginning on April 18, 2005; and
    (2) That he will ensure that any institution employing him submits, 
in conjunction with each application for PHS funds or report, 
manuscript, or abstract of PHS funded research in which Dr. Lilly is 
involved, a certification that the data provided by Dr. Lilly are based 
on actual experiments or are otherwise legitimately derived, and that 
the data, procedures, and methodology are accurately reported in the 
application or report for a period of two (2) years, beginning on April 
18, 2007, approximately corresponding to the termination date of the 
debarment period initiated by the lead agency. Dr. Lilly must ensure 
that the institution also sends a copy of the certification to 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. 05-11017 Filed 6-2-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4150-31-P