[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 4 (Monday, January 7, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Page 941]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-00010]


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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:
    Paul J. Muchowski, Ph.D., The J. David Gladstone Institutes: Based 
on the report of an investigation conducted by The J. David Gladstone 
Institutes (Gladstone) and additional analysis conducted by ORI in its 
oversight review, ORI found that Dr. Paul J. Muchowski, former Senior 
Investigator, Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease, Gladstone, 
engaged in research misconduct in research supported by National 
Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke (NINDS), National 
Institutes of Health (NIH), grant R01 NS054753-06A1.
    ORI found that the Respondent engaged in research misconduct by 
falsifying and fabricating data that was included in one (1) funded NIH 
grant R01 NS054753-06A1 and two (2) submitted NIH grant applications 
R01 NS054753-06 and R01 NS047237-06.
    Specifically, ORI finds that the Respondent knowingly and 
intentionally:
    <bullet> Falsely reported research experiments when the results did 
not exist at the time the grant applications were submitted. 
Specifically:
    [rtrif] in Figures 19-21 and related text of grant application R01 
NS047237-06, the Respondent claimed he had successfully transduced 
human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells expressing [alpha]-synuclein 
([alpha]Syn) with lentiviruses containing small hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) 
that targeted Cog6, Stx7, Vps52, or Vps33a. The Respondent reported 
lentiviral expressed Cog6 significantly exacerbated [alpha]-Syn 
toxicity in SH-SY5Y cells, when only plasmid shRNAs were generated and 
utilized at the time the grant application was submitted.
    [rtrif] in Figure 5 and the accompanying text of grant R01 
NS054753-06A1, the Respondent described the insertion of toxic and 
inert mutant huntingtin (htt) fragments into maltose binding protein-
Htt-Cerulean constructs with a nonpathogenic (25Q) or pathogenic (46Q) 
polyQ repeat, with and without Cerulean. The modified proteins were 
claimed to have been purified, when the constructs had not been made at 
the time the grant was submitted.
    [rtrif] in Figures 5 and 6 and the accompanying text of grant R01 
NS054753-06A1, the Respondent claimed to have cloned toxic and inert 
mutant htt fragments into lentiviral constructs and generated 
lentiviruses, when the constructs were not made.
    [rtrif] in Figure 6 and related text in grant R01 NS054753-06A1, 
the Respondent claimed to have tested immunoblots of lysates from 
primary neurons with an antibody against mutant htt, which demonstrated 
that levels of htt expression in transduced cells were roughly 
equivalent to levels in normal neurons, when the experiment was not 
conducted.
    <bullet> Falsified Figure 3 of grant application R01 NS054753-06 by 
labeling the Western blot images for the expression of mutant htt in 
lentiviral-transduced primary neurons as `Cortex' (left panel) and 
`Striatum' (right panel), when the results were actually from the 
microglial cell lines N9 and BV2, respectively.
    Dr. Muchowski has entered into a Voluntary Settlement Agreement and 
has voluntarily agreed for a period of two (2) years, beginning on 
December 10, 2012:
    (1) To have his research supervised; Respondent agreed that prior 
to the submission of an application for PHS support for a research 
project on which his participation is proposed and prior to his 
participation in any capacity on PHS-supported research, Respondent 
shall ensure that a plan for supervision of his duties is submitted to 
ORI for approval; the supervision plan must be designed to ensure the 
scientific integrity of his research contribution; he agreed that he 
shall not participate in any PHS-supported research until such a 
supervision plan is submitted to and approved by ORI; Respondent agreed 
to maintain responsibility for compliance with the agreed upon 
supervision plan; 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 FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Director, Office of Research 
Integrity, 1101 Wootton Parkway, Suite 750, Rockville, MD 20852, (240) 
453-8200.

David E. Wright,
Director, Office of Research Integrity.
[FR Doc. 2013-00010 Filed 1-4-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4150-31-P