[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 249 (Friday, December 28, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Page 76491]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-31287]



[[Page 76491]]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Office of the Secretary


Findings of Research 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 taken final action in the following case:
    Shuang-Qing Zhang, Ph.D., Texas Tech University Health Sciences 
Center: Based on the report of an investigation conducted by the Texas 
Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) and additional analysis 
conducted by ORI in its oversight review, ORI found that Dr. Shuang-
Qing Zhang, former Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of 
Pharmaceutical Sciences, TTUHSC, engaged in research misconduct in 
research supported by National Institute of General Medical Sciences 
(NIGMS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), grant R01 GM069869.
    ORI found that Respondent engaged in research misconduct by the 
falsification and fabrication of plagiarized data that were included in 
the publication: Zhang, S.Q. & Mehavr, R. ``Determination of dextra-
methylprednisolone conjugate with glycine linker in rat plasma and 
liver by high-performance liquid chromatography and its application in 
pharmacokinetics.'' Biomed. Chromatogr. 24(4):351-357, 2010 (hereafter 
the ``BC 2010 article''). Specifically, ORI found that the Respondent:
     Falsified Figures 2(c) and 3(c) of the BC 2010 article by 
misrepresenting HPLC data that he had plagiarized, originally generated 
prior to the Respondent's arrival in the laboratory by a former 
postdoctoral researcher; in Figure 2(c), the Respondent claimed that 
the HPLC chromatogram was of a ``plasma sample obtained 12 h after 
intravenous injection of DMP to rats at a single dose of 5 mg/kg,'' 
while the actual chromatogram was of a calibration test of 1 [mu]g/ml 
of DMP added to rat plasma, and similarly in Figure 3(c), the 
Respondent claimed that the HPLC chromatogram was of a ``liver 
homogenate obtained 3 h after intravenous dose of DMP at a dose of 5 
mg/kg,'' while the actual chromatogram was of a calibration test of 2 
[mu]g/ml DMP added to rat liver homogenate.
     Falsified and fabricated Figure 4 of the BC 2010 article; 
in the top panel, the Respondent reported the measurement of DMP 
concentrations in plasma samples of three rats after a single injection 
of 5 mg/kg DMP while the actual data that he had plagiarized, 
originally generated prior to the Respondent's arrival in the 
laboratory by a former postdoctoral researcher, was from a single rat. 
In the bottom panel, the Respondent reported the measurement of DMP 
concentrations in liver samples obtained from three rats at 1, 30, 90, 
180, 300, and 720 minutes after a single injection of 5 mg/kg DMP, 
requiring a total of 18 rats, while the actual data that he had 
plagiarized, originally generated prior to the Respondent's arrival in 
the laboratory by a former postdoctoral researcher, was from plasma 
samples from a single rat, and the error bars for both panels were 
fabricated.
    Dr. Zhang has entered into a Voluntary Settlement Agreement and has 
voluntarily agreed:
    (1) To have his research supervised for a period of three (3) 
years; Respondent voluntarily agrees that within sixty (60) days of the 
effective date of the Agreement, any institution that submits an 
application for PHS support for a research project on which the 
Respondent's participation is proposed or that 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 research 
to ORI for approval; Respondent agrees that he will not participate in 
any PHS-supported research after sixty (60) days from the effective 
date of the Agreement until an appropriate supervision plan is 
submitted to ORI; the supervision plan must be designed to ensure the 
scientific integrity of the Respondent's research contribution; and
    (2) to exclude himself voluntarily 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 a period of three (3) years, beginning on December 4, 
2012.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Director, Office of Research 
Integrity, 1101 Wootton Parkway, Suite 750, Rockville, MD 20852,(240) 
453-8800.

David E. Wright,
Director, Office of Research Integrity.
[FR Doc. 2012-31287 Filed 12-27-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4150-31-P