[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 97 (Friday, May 18, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Page 23282]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-10592]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES


Findings of Research Misconduct

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: Findings of research misconduct have been made on the part of 
Maria Cristina Miron Elqutub, Research Interviewer, University of Texas 
MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC). Dr. Elqutub engaged in research 
misconduct in research supported by National Institute of Dental and 
Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), National Institutes of Health (NIH), 
grant U01 DE019765-01. The administrative actions, including three (3) 
years of supervision, were implemented beginning on April 26, 2018, and 
are detailed below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Wanda K. Jones, Dr.P.H., Interim 
Director, Office of Research Integrity, 1101 Wootton Parkway, Suite 
750, Rockville, MD 20852, (240) 453-8200.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is hereby given that the Office of 
Research Integrity (ORI) has taken final action in the following case:
    Maria Cristina Miron Elqutub, University of Texas MD Anderson 
Cancer Center: Based on Respondent's admission, the report of an 
inquiry conducted by MDACC, and analysis conducted by ORI in its 
oversight review, ORI found that Ms. Maria Cristina Miron Elqutub, 
Research Interviewer, MDACC, engaged in research misconduct in research 
supported by NIDCR, NIH, grant U01 DE019765-01.
    ORI found that Respondent engaged in research misconduct by 
intentionally and knowingly falsifying and/or fabricating data that 
were included in the following two (2) published papers and two (2) 
grant progress reports submitted to NIDCR, NIH:
     PLoS One 10(6):e0128753, 2015 Jun 2 (hereafter referred to 
as ``PLoS One 2015'').
     Cancer 121(14):2367-74, 2015 Jul 15 (hereafter referred to 
as ``Cancer 2015'') Retracted in: Cancer 124(4):869, 2018 Feb 15.
     5 U01 DE019765-04.
     5 U01 DE019765-05.
    Specifically, ORI found that Respondent engaged in research 
misconduct by recording dates and providing her own blood samples to 
cause these samples to be falsely labeled as samples from ninety-eight 
(98) study subjects in a cancer genetics study involving human blood 
samples. This resulted in the reporting of false data in Tables 1, 2, 
3, and 4 in PLoS One 2015, in Figure 1 and Tables 1, 2, 3, and 4 in 
Cancer 2015, and in the Results sections of Project 2 progress reports 
for NIDCR, NIH, grants 5 U01 DE019765-04 and 5 U01 DE019765-05.
    Ms. Elqutub entered into a Voluntary Settlement Agreement and 
voluntarily agreed, beginning on April 26, 2018:
    (1) To have her research supervised for a period of three (3) 
years; Respondent agreed to ensure that prior to the submission of an 
application for U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) support for a research 
project on which Respondent's participation is proposed and prior to 
Respondent's participation in any capacity on PHS-supported research, 
the institution employing her must submit a plan for supervision of 
Respondent's duties to ORI for approval; the supervision plan must be 
designed to ensure the scientific integrity of Respondent's research 
contribution; Respondent agreed that she will not participate in any 
PHS-supported research until a supervision plan is submitted to and 
approved by ORI; Respondent agreed to maintain responsibility for 
compliance with the agreed upon supervision plan;
    (2) that for a period of three (3) years, any institution employing 
her must submit, in conjunction with each application for PHS funds, or 
report, manuscript, or abstract involving PHS-supported research in 
which Respondent is involved, a certification to ORI that the data 
provided by Respondent are based on actual experiments or are otherwise 
legitimately derived and that the data, procedures, and methodology are 
accurately reported in the application, report, manuscript, or 
abstract;
    (3) if no supervisory plan is provided to ORI, to provide 
certification to ORI on an annual basis for a period of three (3) years 
that she has not engaged in, applied for, or had her name included on 
any application, proposal, or other request for PHS funds without prior 
notification to ORI;
    (4) to exclude herself 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; and
    (5) to the correction or retraction of PLoS One 10(6):e0128753, 
2015 Jun 2.

Wanda K. Jones,
Interim Director, Office of Research Integrity.
[FR Doc. 2018-10592 Filed 5-17-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4150-31-P