[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 243 (Thursday, December 18, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66372-66373]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-33035]
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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:
S. Ashraf Imam, Ph.D., University of Southern California: Based on
an investigation report forwarded to the Office of Research Integrity
(ORI) by the University of Southern California (USC) as well as
information obtained by ORI during its oversight review, ORI found that
Dr. Imam, an Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology, USC,
engaged in scientific misconduct by including plagiarized material in a
grant application submitted to the National Cancer Institute (NCI),
National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Specifically, Dr. Imam's NIH grant application contained extensive
paraphrasing of the text of another researcher's independent grant
application to a state agency. Dr. Imam had been given that application
by a colleague in confidence. The colleague was a reviewer on the state
grant application and requested that Dr. Imam evaluate it and return
the application to him.
The other researcher's application was subsequently funded. Dr.
Imam paraphrased or copied into his NIH application all of the other
researcher's specific aims, the background on proposed methods, the
experimental design and research plan, and most of the references; only
the preliminary results sections of Dr. Imam's application were
different.
Dr. Imam has accepted the ORI finding and has entered into a
Voluntary Exclusion Agreement with ORI in which he has agreed, for the
three (3) year period beginning December 8, 1997, to exclude himself
voluntarily from:
(1) any contracting or subcontracting with any agency of the United
States Government and from eligibility for, or involvement in,
nonprocurement transactions (e.g., grants and cooperative agreements)
of the United States Government as defined in 45 CFR Part 76 (Debarment
Regulations); and
(2) 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.
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
[[Page 66373]]
Integrity, 5515 Security Lane, Suite 700, Rockville, MD 20852, (301)
443-5330.
Chris B. Pascal, J.D.,
Acting Director, Office of Research Integrity.
[FR Doc. 97-33035 Filed 12-17-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-17-P
