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发帖数: 103 | 1 Fifty-four scientists have lost their jobs as a result of NIH probe into
foreign ties
By Jeffrey MervisJun. 12, 2020 , 6:00 PM
Some 54 scientists have resigned or been fired as a result of an
ongoing investigation by the National Institutes of Health into the
failure of NIH grantees to disclose financial ties to foreign governments.
In 93% of those cases, the hidden funding came from a Chinese institution.
The new numbers come from Michael Lauer, NIH’s head of extramural
research. Lauer had previously provided some information on the
scope of NIH’s investigation, which had targeted 189 scientists at 87
institutions. But his presentation today to a senior advisory panel offered
by far the most detailed breakout of an effort NIH launched in August
2018 that has roiled the U.S. biomedical community, and resulted in
criminal charges against some prominent researchers, including Charles
Lieber, chair of Harvard University’s department of chemistry and chemical
biology.
“It’s not what we had hoped, and it’s not a fun task,” NIH Director
Francis Collins said in characterizing the ongoing investigation. He called
the data “sobering.”
In the vast majority of cases, Lauer reported, the person being investigated
has been an Asian man in his 50s. Some three-quarters of those under
investigation had active NIH grants, and nearly half had at least two grants
. The 285 active grants totaled $164 million.
Lauer also presented data on the nature of the violations that NIH has
uncovered. Some 70% (133) of the researchers had failed to disclose to NIH
the receipt of a foreign grant, and 54% had failed to disclose participation
in a foreign talent program. In contrast, Lauer said, only 9% hid ties to a
foreign company, and only 4% had an undisclosed foreign patent. Some 5% of
cases involved a violation of NIH’s peer-review system.
Lauer said the fact that 82% of those being investigated are Asian “is not
surprising” because “that’s who the Chinese target” in their foreign
talent recruitment programs. Some 82% are men, and their median age is 56,
with the youngest being 48 and the oldest 59. Slightly more than one-half
had been an NIH peer reviewer in the past 2 years, and 41% of those under
investigation (77 scientists) have been banned from further participation in
NIH’s well-regarded system of vetting grant proposals.
NIH has been in the forefront of federal efforts to identify and block
behavior that many U.S. government officials say poses a significant threat
to the country’s economic well-being and to national security. Several
bills pending in Congress seek to limit that threat in various ways,
including by limiting the flow of scientific talent from China to the United
States, and by restricting access to federally funded research that
provides a foundation for cutting-edge technologies and new industries.
Lauer’s presentation also provided a glimpse into the scope of that broader
investigation. There are 399 scientists “of possible concern” to NIH, he
told the advisory council, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation has
fingered 30% (121) of them. An additional 44 have been flagged by their own
institutions. Of that pool, Lauer said, investigations into 63%, or 256
scientists, came out “positive.” Investigations into some 19% came up “
negative,” he noted, whereas the status of the remaining 18% is “pending.”
Posted in: Scientific Community
doi:10.1126/science.abd3084 |
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