[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 18 (Thursday, January 28, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Page 4566]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-1706]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Office of the Secretary


Findings of Misconduct in Science

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that on January 7, 2010, the Department 
of Health and Human Services (HHS) Debarring Official, on behalf of the 
Secretary of HHS, issued a final notice of debarment based on the 
misconduct in science findings of the Office of Research Integrity 
(ORI) in the following case:
    James Gary Linn, PhD, Tennessee State University: Based on the 
findings in an investigation report by Tennessee State University (TSU) 
and additional analysis conducted by ORI in its oversight review, ORI 
found that James Gary Linn, Ph.D., former Professor, School of Nursing, 
TSU, committed misconduct in science and research misconduct in 
research supported by National Institute of General Medical Sciences 
(NIGMS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), grant S06 GM008092, and 
National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), NIH, grant G12 RR03033.
    Specifically, ORI found:
     The Respondent knowingly and intentionally falsified and/
or fabricated the data and results of a study in which he purportedly 
tested the effects of an intervention to reduce sexual risk behaviors 
in high risk, impaired populations of homeless men with mental illness 
by reporting false values for variables in Tables 2-5 of Cellular and 
Molecular Biology 49(7):1167-1175, 2003. In that published article, he 
falsified the values in Tables 2-5 by altering the values that he had 
obtained from another author's manuscript.
     The Respondent provided a CD ROM disc to TSU's 
Institutional Research Investigation Committee (RIC) that he claimed 
contained files supporting his analyses for the article in question but 
that contained fabricated and/or falsified data.
     The Respondent submitted falsified summary data to the TSU 
RIC during the TSU investigation and to ORI.
    ORI issued a charge letter enumerating the above findings of 
misconduct in science and proposing HHS administrative actions. Dr. 
Linn subsequently requested a hearing before an Administrative Law 
Judge (ALJ) of the Departmental Appeals Board to dispute these 
findings. However, on November 30, 2009, Dr. Linn withdrew his request 
for a hearing. On December 18, 2009, the ALJ of the Departmental 
Appeals Board accepted Dr. Linn's withdrawal and dismissedhis request 
for a hearing. Thus, the scientific misconduct findings set forth above 
became effective, and the following administrative actions have been 
implemented for a period of three (3) years, beginning on January 7, 
2010:
    (1) Dr. Linn has been debarred from any contracting or 
subcontracting with any agency of the United States Government and from 
eligibility or involvement in nonprocurement programs of the United 
States Government referred to as ``covered transactions'' pursuant to 
the Department of Health and Human Service's Implementation (2 CFR Part 
376 et seq.) of OMB Guidelines to Agencies on Governmentwide Debarment 
and Suspension, 2 CFR Part 180; and
    (2) Dr. Linn is prohibited 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 FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Director, Division of Investigative 
Oversight, Office of Research Integrity, 1101 Wootton Parkway, Suite 
750, Rockville, MD 20852, (240) 453-8800.

John Dahlberg,
Director, Division of Investigative Oversight, Office of Research 
Integrity.
[FR Doc. 2010-1706 Filed 1-27-10; 8:45 am]
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