Opinion ID: 445561
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Events Prior to 1981

Text: 3 From 1976 to April, 1981, Reuber, a Maryland resident, worked as a research pathologist at FCRC, a government-owned facility located in Maryland, which Bionetics operates pursuant to a cost-plus contract with the National Cancer Institute (NCI). 2 Until 1981, Reuber's employer, Bionetics, was apparently pleased with his work; as late as November, 1980, defendant Dr. Michael Hanna, Director of FCRC, rated Reuber's job performance as outstanding, and earlier in 1981 Reuber was picked to head FCRC's Experimental Pathology Laboratory. See Deposition of Michael George Hanna, Reuber v. United States, Civ. No. 81-1857 [hereinafter cited as Hanna Dep.]. 3 4 During this time FCRC encouraged Reuber to do personal research on his own time. Reuber contends that FCRC's policy allowed researchers to take up to one day a week off from official work to engage in scholarly activities, see Deposition of Melvin D. Reuber at 196-99 [hereinafter cited as Reuber Dep.], which he interpreted to include personal research. Thus, Reuber conducted several studies based on review of NCI slides available at Tracor Jitco, a repository in Maryland for NCI slides. Id. at 29-30. He submitted several of these studies for publication without first clearing them through FCRC and NCI. Reuber also completed numerous FCRC-sponsored studies, which he did subject to the FCRC and NCI clearance process prior to submittal for publication. Unlike his personal research, these studies were required to expressly state: 5 [t]he work upon which this publication is based was performed pursuant to [the FCRC] Contract ... with the [NCI]. Id., Exh. 4. 4 6 In one personal study Reuber submitted for publication in 1979 dealing with the carcinogenicity of malathion, see Reuber v. United States, Civ. No. 81-1857, slip op. at 1 (D.D.C. Aug. 25, 1982) (Memorandum Opinion), 5 he reported that after examining 24,000 slides used in prior NCI studies, 6 he concluded contrary to the results of these studies that malathion did cause cancer in test mice and rats. 7