[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 34 (Thursday, February 20, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Page 7787]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-4081]


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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) has made a final finding of scientific misconduct in the 
following case:
    James B. Boone, Jr., Ph.D., University of Missouri-Columbia: Based 
upon an investigation conducted by the University of Missouri-Columbia, 
information obtained by the Office of Research Integrity (ORI) during 
its oversight review, and Dr. Boone's own admission, ORI found that Dr. 
Boone, former Research Assistant Professor, Department of Veterinary 
Biomedical Sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia, engaged in 
scientific misconduct by fabricating and falsifying data in biomedical 
research supported by a grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood 
Institute (NHLBI), National Institutes of Health (NIH).
    Specifically, Dr. Boone fabricated the weights of individual, 
isolated muscles that, in fact, had not been separated by dissection, 
and falsely presented unrelated gamma counter results as having been 
obtained from the same individual muscles. He presented these data to 
his laboratory director as the results from two experiments that Dr. 
Boone admitted he did not complete. Dr. Boone committed additional 
falsifications in conducting research, including presenting: (1) A 
computer spread sheet that used the above described sets of the 
fabricated primary data of muscle weights and the falsified gamma 
counter results to generate false computations of blood flow in 
separate muscles; (2) A computer spread sheet for the statistical 
computations of the data from the two sets of fabricated and falsified 
reduced data; and (3) A histogram derived from the falsified reduced 
data that showed significant differences in some of the fabricated 
experimental measurements on individual muscles.
    Dr. Boone has accepted the ORI finding and has entered into a 
Voluntary Exclusion Agreement with ORI in which he has voluntarily 
agreed, for the three (3) year period beginning February 10, 1997:
    (1) To exclude himself from serving in any advisory capacity to the 
Public Health Service (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 that 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 must concurrently submit a plan for supervision of 
his duties. The supervisory plan must be designed to ensure the 
scientific integrity of the respondent's research contribution. The 
institution must submit a copy of the supervisory plan to ORI.
    No scientific publications were required to be corrected as part of 
this Agreement.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Acting Director, Division of Research 
Investigations Office of Research Integrity, 5515 Security Lane, Suite 
700, Rockville, MD 20852, (301) 443-5330.
Chris B. Pascal,
Acting Director, Office of Research Integrity.
[FR Doc. 97-4081 Filed 2-19-97; 8:45 am]
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