Scientific misconduct findings; administrative actions: Angelides, Kimon J., Ph.D.,

[Federal Register: March 12, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 48)]

[Notices]

[Page 12341]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

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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.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that on February 5, 1999, a Research Integrity Adjudications Panel of the HHS Departmental Appeals Board issued a ruling upholding the scientific misconduct finding of the Office of Research Integrity (ORI) in the following case:

Kimon J. Angelides, Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine: Based on the report of an investigation conducted by Baylor College of Medicine and information obtained by ORI during its oversight review, ORI found on March 10, 1997, that Dr. Angelides, former Professor, Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics and Department of Cell Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, engaged in scientific misconduct by intentionally falsifying data and misrepresenting research results in five grant applications submitted to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and in five papers published while he was at the Baylor College of Medicine. The research involved the study of the voltage-gated sodium channel protein in nervous tissue and its location in myelinated nerves. In a decision dated February 5, 1999, the HHS Departmental Appeals Board affirmed ORI's findings of scientific misconduct and determined that the administrative actions recommended by ORI were justified. The following actions have been implemented:

(1) Dr. Angelides has been debarred from eligibility for, or involvement in, nonprocurement transactions (e.g., grants and cooperative agreements) of the Federal Government and from contracting or subcontracting with any Federal Government agency for a period of five (5) years, beginning on February 22, 1999.

(2) Dr. Angelides is prohibited from serving in any advisory capacity to PHS, including but not limited to service on any PHS advisory committee, board, and/or peer review committee, or as a consultant for a period of five (5) years, beginning on February 22, 1999.

(3) Within 30 days of February 22, 1999, Dr. Angelides is required to submit a letter to the editors of Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Annals of the New York Academy of Science, Glia, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (USA) requesting retraction of the falsified figures and text in each of the following scientific papers:

--Black, J.A., Friedman, B., Waxman, S.G., Elmer, L.W., and Angelides, K.J. ``Immuno-ultrastructural localization of sodium channels at nodes of Ranvier and perinodal astrocytes in rat optic nerve.'' Proc. R. Soc. London 238:39-51, 1989. --Minturn, J.E., Sontheimer, H., Black, J.A., Angelides, K.J., Ransom, B.R., Ritchie, J.M., and Waxman, S.G. ``Membrane-associated sodium channels and cytoplasmic precursors in glial cells.'' Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 633:255-271, 1991. --Black, J.A., Waxman, S.G., Friedman, B., Elmer, L.W., and Angelides, K.J. ``Sodium channels in astrocytes of rat optic nerve in situ: Immuno-electron microscopic studies.'' Glia 2:353-369, 1989. --Ritchie, J.M., Black, J.A., Waxman, S.G., and Angelides, K.J. ``Sodium channels in the cytoplasm of Schwann cells.'' Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (USA) 87:9290-9294, 1990.

A retraction of the following scientific paper already has been published (Brain Research 761(2), 1997) at the request of the coauthors:

‹bullet› Elmer, L.W., Black, J.A., Waxman, S.G., and Angelides, K.J. ``The voltage dependent sodium channel in mammalian CNS and PNS: Antibody characterization and immunocytochemical localization.'' Brain Research 532:222-231, 1990.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Acting Director, Division of Research Investigations, Office of Research Integrity, 5515 Security Lane, Suite 700, Rockville, MD 20852, (301) 443-5330. Chris B. Pascal, Acting Director, Office of Research Integrity.

[FR Doc. 99-6077Filed3-11-99; 8:45 am]

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