83024 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 199 / Tuesday, October 15, 2024 / Notices 

communications, external engagement, 

and program development. Specifically, 

the Office works closely with the Office 

of the Associate Administrator to 

develop strategic plans, facilitate 

program alignment, and support special 

initiatives. 

Division of Healthy Start and Perinatal 

Services (RM5) 

The Division of Healthy Start and 

Perinatal Services provides national 

leadership in planning, directing, 

coordinating, monitoring, and 

evaluating national programs focused on 

maternal, infant, family, and women’s 

health for targeted populations, 

especially for those at high-risk for poor 

health and health outcomes. 

Specifically, the Division: (1) 

administers local, state, and national 

programs on perinatal and women’s 

health, with an emphasis on infant 

mortality reduction and eliminating 

disparities in infant, maternal, and 

women’s health outcomes before and 

after pregnancy; (2) develops policy and 

provides technical assistance, national 

resource development and 

dissemination, and workforce 

development to address national trends 

in maternal, infant, family, and 

women’s health status and gaps in 

evidence-based healthcare services for 

these populations as well as Division 

programs; (3) administers funds and 

other resources for grants, contracts, and 

cooperative agreements; (4) coordinates 

with MCHB, agency, departmental, and 

intradepartmental initiatives in 

promoting the Division’s program 

objectives and the mission of MCHB; (5) 

coordinates the Advisory Committee on 

Infant and Maternal Mortality; (6) liaises 

with public, private, professional, and 

non-governmental organizations for 

Division programs; (7) disseminates 

information on Division programs to 

local, state, and national audiences; (8) 

participates in strategic and policy 

planning, health services research and 

evaluation, regulatory activities, and 

fiscal strategic planning, administration, 

and analysis relating to Division 

programs; and (9) provides technical 

assistance and support to central and 

regional office staff of MCHB, HRSA, 

HHS, and other federal agencies. 

Division of Home Visiting and Early 

Childhood Systems (RM8) 

The Division of Home Visiting and 

Early Childhood Systems plans, 

develops, implements, oversees, 

monitors, and evaluates national 

programs, including the Maternal, 

Infant, and Early Childhood Home 

Visiting Program and a portfolio of early 

childhood systems programs. 

Specifically, the Division: (1) provides 

leadership and coordination of federal, 

regional, state, local, and nongovernmental efforts to promote the 

health and well-being of pregnant 

women, infants, young children and 

their families; (2) develops, analyzes, 

and/or disseminates policies, standards, 

guidelines, research, and evaluation 

information for the various Division 

programs; (3) establishes and maintains 

cooperative relationships within HRSA, 

with other federal agencies, and with 

other relevant public and private 

organizations to implement programs to 

improve maternal and child health 

outcomes, develop and improve 

comprehensive coordinated early 

childhood systems, conduct research 

and evaluation, and advance 

educational and training programs for 

the early childhood workforce; (4) 

administers and manages a program of 

interagency agreements, cooperative 

agreements, grants, and contracts that 

will enhance service delivery and 

systems building; and (5) provides 

technical assistance and engagement to 

state and local health personnel, other 

federal agencies, and other stakeholders 

on maternal health, early childhood 

health and development, and 

comprehensive and coordinated systems 

of care. 

Division of Women’s Health (RMC) 

The Division of Women’s Health 

provides national leadership in policy, 

planning, programming, outreach, and 

education to improve the health, 

wellness, and safety of women across 

the lifespan. Specifically the Division: 

(1) provides leadership, technical 

assistance, and support to improve 

health outcomes for women; (2) engages 

with health professionals and other 

stakeholders to identify and disseminate 

the latest evidence and best practices in 

women’s health; (3) establishes shortrange and long-range goals, plans, leads, 

and administers activities that improve 

women’s health; (4) enhances the health 

care infrastructure and service delivery 

system by supporting innovative 

programs throughout the lifespan for 

women as well as for children and 

families; and (5) works to improve 

prevention, early identification, 

treatment, and referral for health 

services for women and their families. 

Section RM.30 Delegation of 

Authority 

All delegations of authority and redelegations of authority made to 

officials and employees of affected 

organizational components will 

continue in them or their successors 

pending further redelegation, if allowed, 

provided they are consistent with this 

reorganization. 

This reorganization is effective upon 

date of signature. 

(Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3101) 

Carole Johnson, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2024–23783 Filed 10–11–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4165–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Office of the Secretary 

Findings of Research Misconduct 

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, HHS. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: Findings of research 

misconduct have been made against 

Bret Rutherford, M.D. (Respondent), 

who was formerly a Research 

Psychiatrist, New York State Psychiatric 

Institute (NYSPI). Respondent engaged 

in research misconduct in research 

supported by U.S. Public Health Service 

(PHS) funds, specifically National 

Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), 

National Institutes of Health (NIH), 

grants R01 MH102293 and R61/R33 

MH110029. The administrative actions, 

including debarment for a period of 

three (3) years followed by supervision 

for a period of three (3) years, were 

implemented beginning on September 

27, 2024, and are detailed below. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sheila Garrity, JD, MPH, MBA, Director, 

Office of Research Integrity, 1101 

Wootton Parkway, Suite 240, 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: 

Bret Rutherford, M.D., New York State 

Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI): Based on 

the report of an investigation conducted 

by NYSPI and additional analysis 

conducted by ORI in its oversight 

review, ORI found that Dr. Bret 

Rutherford (Respondent), former 

Research Psychiatrist, NYSPI, engaged 

in research misconduct in research 

supported by PHS funds, specifically, 

NIMH, NIH, grants R01 MH102293 and 

R61/R33 MH110029. 

ORI found that Respondent engaged 

in research misconduct by recklessly 

falsely reporting that all human research 

subjects met the inclusion/exclusion 

criteria for late-life depression studies in 

five (5) published papers, thus affecting 

the reported clinical research methods 

and results including demographics, 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 199 / Tuesday, October 15, 2024 / Notices 83025 

gait speed, Positron Emission 

Tomography (PET) scan brain activities, 

depression scores, Magnetic Resonance 

Imaging (MRI) brain volumes, 

neuromelanin MRI contrast values, 

cognition tests, diffusion brain imaging 

data, and other neurocognitive 

assessments and conclusions in five (5) 

published papers: 

• Effects of L–DOPA Monotherapy on 

Psychomotor Speed and [11C]Raclopride 

Binding in High Risk Older Adults With 

Depression. Biol. Psychiatry 2019 Aug 

1;86(3):221–229. doi: 10.1016/ 

j.biopsych.2019.04.007 (hereafter 

referred to as ‘‘Biol. Psychiatry 2019’’). 

Retraction in: Biol. Psychiatry 2023 Feb 

15;93(4):382. doi: 10.1016/ 

j.biopsych.2022.12.007. 

• Neuroanatomical predictors of L– 

DOPA response in older adults with 

psychomotor slowing and depression: A 

pilot study. J. Affect. Disord. 2020 Mar 

15;265:439–444. doi: 10.1016/ 

j.jad.2020.01.066 (hereafter referred to 

as ‘‘J. Affect. Disord. 2020’’). Retraction 

in: J. Affect. Disord. 2023 Jun 1;330:369. 

doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.03.021. 

• Association between neuromelaninsensitive MRI signal and psychomotor 

slowing in late-life depression. 

Neuropsychopharmacology 2021 

Jun;46(7):1233–1239. doi: 10.1038/ 

s41386–020–00860–z (hereafter referred 

to as ‘‘Neuropsychopharmacology 

2021’’). Retraction in: 

Neuropsychopharmacology 2024 

Jun;49(7):1202. doi: 10.1038/s41386– 

024–01851–0. 

• Slowed Processing Speed Disrupts 

Patient Expectancy in Late Life 

Depression. Am. J. Geriatr. Psychiatry 

2021 Ju1;29(7):619–630. doi: 10.1016/ 

j.jagp.2020.11.001 (hereafter referred to 

as ‘‘Am. J. Geriatr. Psychiatry 2021a’’). 

Erratum in: Am. J. Geriatr. Psychiatry 

2023 Jan;31(1):78–79. doi: 10.1016/ 

j.jagp.2022.09.006. 

• Association of White Matter 

Integrity With Executive Function and 

Antidepressant Treatment Outcome in 

Patients With Late-Life Depression. Am. 

J. Geriatr. Psychiatry 2021 

Dec;29(12):1188–1198. doi: 10.1016/ 

j.jagp.2021.01.004 (hereafter referred to 

as ‘‘Am. J. Geriatr. Psychiatry 2021b’’). 

Erratum in: Am. J. Geriatr. Psychiatry 

2023 Jan;31(1):76–77. doi: 10.1016/ 

j.jagp.2022.09.007. 

Specifically, ORI found that 

Respondent recklessly: 

• falsely reported that all subjects met 

the studies’ inclusion/exclusion criteria 

by not having taken exclusionary 

medications at time of study enrollment 

for as many as forty-five (45) subjects, 

by reporting eligibility of subjects who 

had taken exclusionary medications 

during a 28-day washout period prior to 

enrollment for as many as fifteen (15) 

subjects and by reporting full 

medication washout periods for as many 

as eight (8) subjects who received 

shorter washout periods than 28-days. 

Specifically, in: 

—Biol. Psychiatry 2019, the Methods 

and Materials section falsely reported 

that all subjects met the protocol’s 

inclusion/exclusion criteria when the 

medication status of fifteen (15) of the 

forty-seven (47) subjects failed to meet 

the exclusion criteria of current 

treatment or treatment within the last 

4 weeks with psychotropic or other 

medications known to affect 

dopamine 

—J. Affect. Disord. 2020, the Methods 

and Materials and Results sections 

falsely reported that all subjects met 

the protocol’s inclusion/exclusion 

criteria when the medication status of 

a subset of subjects failed to meet the 

exclusion criteria of within the past 4 

weeks treatment with psychotropic or 

other medications known to affect 

dopamine 

—Neuropsychopharmacology 2021, the 

Methods and Materials and Results 

section falsely reported that all 

subjects met the protocol’s inclusion/ 

exclusion criteria when the 

medication status of a subset of 

subjects failed to meet the exclusion 

criteria of being treated within the 

past 4 weeks with psychotropic or 

other medications known to affect 

dopamine 

—Am. J. Geriatr. Psychiatry 2021a, the 

Method and Results sections falsely 

reported that all subjects met the 

protocol’s inclusion/exclusion criteria 

when the medication status of thirty 

(30) of the one hundred eight (108) 

subjects failed to meet the exclusion 

criteria of current treatment with 

psychotherapy, antidepressants, 

antipsychotics, or mood stabilizers 

—Am. J. Geriatr. Psychiatry 2021b, the 

Methods and Results sections falsely 

reported that all subjects met the 

protocol’s inclusion/exclusion criteria 

when the medication status of 

eighteen (18) of the seventy-one (71) 

subjects failed to meet the exclusion 

criteria of current treatment with 

psychotherapy, antidepressants, 

antipsychotics, or mood stabilizers 

• falsely reported the research 

methods in Biol. Psychiatry 2019, J. 

Affect. Disord. 2020, 

Neuropsychopharmacology 2021, Am. J. 

Geriatr. Psychiatry 2021a, and Am. J. 

Geriatr. Psychiatry 2021b by omitting 

the medication taper administered to as 

many as forty (40) subjects after study 

enrollment 

Respondent entered into a Voluntary 

Exclusion Agreement (Agreement) and 

voluntarily agreed to the following: 

(1) Respondent will exclude himself 

voluntarily for a period of three (3) years 

beginning on September 27, 2024 (the 

‘‘Exclusion Period’’) from any 

contracting or subcontracting with any 

agency of the United States Government 

and from eligibility for or involvement 

in nonprocurement or procurement 

transactions referred to as ‘‘covered 

transactions’’ in 2 CFR parts 180 and 

376 (collectively the ‘‘Debarment 

Regulations’’). At the conclusion of the 

Exclusion Period, Respondent agrees to 

have his research supervised for a 

period of three (3) years (the 

‘‘Supervision Period’’). During the 

Supervision Period, prior to the 

submission of an application for PHS 

support for a research project on which 

Respondent’s participation is proposed 

and prior to Respondent’s participation 

in any capacity in PHS-supported 

research, Respondent will submit a plan 

for supervision of Respondent’s duties 

to ORI for approval. The supervision 

plan must be designed to ensure the 

integrity of Respondent’s research. 

Respondent will not participate in any 

PHS-supported research until such a 

supervision plan is approved by ORI. 

Respondent will comply with the 

agreed-upon supervision plan. 

(2) During the Exclusion Period, 

Respondent will not apply for, permit 

his name to be used on an application 

for, receive, or be supported by funds of 

the United States Government and its 

agencies made available through 

contracts, subcontracts, or covered 

transactions. 

(3) During the Supervision Period, the 

requirements for Respondent’s 

supervision plan are as follows: 

i. A committee of 2–3 senior faculty 

members at the institution including 

Respondent’s supervisor or 

collaborators, will provide oversight and 

guidance. The committee will review 

primary data from Respondent’s 

laboratory on a quarterly basis and 

submit a report to ORI at six (6) month 

intervals, setting forth the committee 

meeting dates and Respondent’s 

compliance with appropriate research 

standards and confirming the integrity 

of Respondent’s research. 

ii. The committee will conduct an 

advance review of each application for 

PHS funds, or report, manuscript, or 

abstract involving PHS-supported 

research in which Respondent is 

involved. The review will include a 

discussion with Respondent of the 

primary data represented in those 

documents and will include a 

certification to ORI that the data 


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83026 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 199 / Tuesday, October 15, 2024 / Notices 

presented in the proposed application, 

report, manuscript, or abstract are 

supported by the research record. 

(4) During the Supervision Period, 

Respondent will ensure that any 

institution employing him submits, 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 and the 

PHS funding agency 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. 

(5) If no supervision plan is provided 

to ORI, Respondent will provide 

certification to ORI at the conclusion of 

the Supervision Period that his 

participation was not proposed on a 

research project for which an 

application for PHS support was 

submitted and that he has not 

participated in any capacity in PHSsupported research. 

(6) During the Exclusion and 

Supervision Periods, Respondent will 

exclude himself voluntarily from 

serving in any advisory or consultant 

capacity to PHS including, but not 

limited to, service on any PHS advisory 

committee, board, and/or peer review 

committee. 

Dated: October 8, 2024. 

Sheila Garrity, 

Director, Office of Research Integrity, Office 

of the Assistant Secretary for Health. 

[FR Doc. 2024–23689 Filed 10–11–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4150–31–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

National Institutes of Health 

National Heart, Lung, and Blood 

Institute; Notice of Meeting 

Pursuant to section 1009 of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act, as 

amended, notice is hereby given of a 

meeting of the Sleep Disorders Research 

Advisory Board. 

The meeting will be held as a virtual 

meeting and will be open to the public 

as indicated below. Individuals who 

plan to attend and need special 

assistance, such as sign language 

interpretation or other reasonable 

accommodations, should notify the 

Contact Person listed below in advance 

of the meeting. 

The event is free and open to the 

public, however, registration is 

required. Please use this link to register: 

https://nih.zoomgov.com/webinar/ 

register/WN_

DE1zt3OOQqSGZFeVEJS6jw. 

Name of Committee: Sleep Disorders 

Research Advisory Board. 

Date: December 5, 2024. 

Time: 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 

Agenda: The purpose of this meeting is to 

update the Advisory Board and public 

stakeholders on the research agenda across 

NIH for the upcoming fiscal year, and the 

activities of professional societies. 

Address: National Institutes of Health, 

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 

6701 Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, 

Virtual Meeting. 

Contact Person: Marishka Brown, Ph.D., 

SDRAB Executive Secretary, Director, 

National Center on Sleep Disorders Research, 

National Institutes of Health, National Heart, 

Lung, and Blood Institute, 6705 Rockledge 

Drive, Suite 407B Bethesda, Maryland 

20814–7952, 301–435–0199. 

Email: ncsdr@nih.gov. 

Any member of the public interested in 

presenting oral comments to the committee 

may notify the Contact Person listed on this 

notice at least 10 days in advance of the 

meeting. Interested individuals and 

representatives of organizations may submit 

a letter of intent, a brief description of the 

organization represented, and a short 

description of the oral presentation. Only one 

representative of an organization may be 

allowed to present oral comments and if 

accepted by the committee, presentations 

may be limited to five minutes. Both printed 

and electronic copies are requested for the 

record. In addition, any interested person 

may file written comments with the 

committee by forwarding their statement to 

the Contact Person listed on this notice. The 

statement should include the name, address, 

telephone number and when applicable, the 

business or professional affiliation of the 

interested person. 

Information is also available on the 

Institute’s/Center’s home page: https://

www.nhlbi.nih.gov/about/advisory-and-peerreview-committees/sleep-disorders-research, 

where an agenda and any additional 

information for the meeting will be posted 

when available. 

(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance 

Program Nos. 93.233, National Center for 

Sleep Disorders Research; 93.837, Heart and 

Vascular Diseases Research; 93.838, Lung 

Diseases Research; 93.839, Blood Diseases 

and Resources Research, National Institutes 

of Health, HHS) 

Dated: October 9, 2024. 

Bruce A. George, 

Program Analyst, Office of Federal Advisory 

Committee Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2024–23742 Filed 10–11–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4140–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

National Institutes of Health 

National Heart, Lung, and Blood 

Institute; Cancellation of Meeting 

Notice is hereby given of the 

cancellation of the National Heart, Lung, 

and Blood Advisory Council, October 

29, 2024, 8 a.m. to October 29, 2024, 5 

p.m., National Institutes of Health, 

Building 31, 31 Center Drive, Bethesda, 

MD, 20892 which was published in the 

Federal Register on September 30, 2024, 

89 FR 79933. 

The meeting is cancelled. 

Dated: October 9, 2024. 

Bruce A. George, 

Program Analyst, Office of Federal Advisory 

Committee Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2024–23752 Filed 10–11–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4140–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

National Institutes of Health 

National Institute of Mental Health; 

Notice of Closed Meetings 

Pursuant to section 1009 of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act, as 

amended, notice is hereby given of the 

following meetings. 

The meetings will be closed to the 

public in accordance with the 

provisions set forth in sections 

552b(c)(4) and 552b(c)(6), Title 5 U.S.C., 

as amended. The grant applications and 

the discussions could disclose 

confidential trade secrets or commercial 

property such as patentable material, 

and personal information concerning 

individuals associated with the grant 

applications, the disclosure of which 

would constitute a clearly unwarranted 

invasion of personal privacy. 

Name of Committee: National Institute of 

Mental Health Special Emphasis Panel 

Pathway to Independence Awards (K99/R00). 

Date: November 13, 2024. 

Time: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 

Agenda: To review and evaluate grant 

applications. 

Address: National Institutes of Health, 

Neuroscience Center, 6001 Executive 

Boulevard, Rockville, MD 20852. 

Meeting Format: Virtual Meeting. 

Contact Person: David W. Miller, Ph.D., 

Scientific Review Officer, Division of 

Extramural Activities, National Institute of 

Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, 

Neuroscience Center, 6001 Executive 

Boulevard, Bethesda, MD 20892–9608, (301) 

443–9734, millerda@mail.nih.gov. 


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