Duke Announces Research Fraud Settlement with $112.5 Million Payment to U.S. Government
March 28th, 2019Standard operating procedure. Except for the whistleblower part.
Via: Duke Chronicle:
Duke will pay $112.5 million to the federal government in a settlement for a lawsuit regarding its handling of falsified data that the suit alleged was linked to $200 million in federal research grants.
“This is a difficult moment for Duke,” President Vincent Price wrote in an email to the Duke community. “This case demonstrates the devastating impact of research fraud and reinforces the need for all of us to have a focused commitment on promoting research integrity and accountability.”
The lawsuit, filed by former lab analyst Joseph Thomas, alleged Duke used the data to obtain grants and covered up the fraud.
The lawsuit came from fraud allegedly committed by former Duke researcher Erin Potts-Kant. A researcher in the pulmonary, allergy and critical care department of Duke Health, Potts-Kant has had more than 12 scientific papers retracted since word broke of the allegedly falsified data.
Potts-Kant admitted to changing parts of the data but said that experiments actually were run. Thomas brought the case under the False Claims Act, which could have forced Duke to fork over as much as $600 million.
Thomas alleged Potts-Kant falsified data in research on mice’s lungs. From these data, labs at the University were able to secure additional federal funding, calling roughly $200 million in grants into question.
