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Case Summary - Susan M. Aronica
[Federal Register: March 31, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 62)]
[Notices]
[Page 16308-16309]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr31mr06-69]
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Office of the Secretary
Findings of Scientific Misconduct
ACTION: Notice
SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that on February 28, 2006, the
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Debarring Official, on
behalf of the Secretary of HHS, issued a final notice of debarment
based on the scientific misconduct findings of the U.S. Public Health
Service (PHS) in the following case:
Susan M. Aronica, PhD, Indiana University-Purdue University
Indianapolis: Based on the evidence and findings of an investigation
report by Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and
additional analysis conducted by the Office of Research Integrity (ORI)
in its oversight review, ORI found that Susan M. Aronica, Ph.D., former
Postdoctoral Student/Fellow, IUPUI, committed 21 acts of scientific
misconduct by knowingly and intentionally falsifying and fabricating
data in her notebooks, in 17 figures and figure panels, in two tables
published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry (J. Biol. Chem.
270:21998-22007, 1995) and Blood (Blood 89:3582-3595, 1997), and in two
figures in a manuscript submitted for publication to Blood in August
1997.
ORI issued a charge letter enumerating the above findings of
scientific misconduct. However, Dr. Aronica requested a hearing to
dispute these findings to the Departmental Appeals Board. Based upon
the insufficiency of Dr. Aronica's hearing request, ORI filed a Motion
to Dismiss.
On February 10, 2006, the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ruled in
ORI's favor by dismissing Dr. Aronica's request for a hearing. ORI's
research misconduct regulation specifically delineates the requisite
content for an acceptable hearing request. A sustainable hearing
request must admit or deny each finding of research misconduct, and
each denial must be detailed and substantive. 42 CFR 93.501(c). Dr.
Aronica's hearing request contained only a general denial of the
proposed findings. The regulation states that a general denial is not
sufficient to establish a genuine dispute. 42 CFR 93.503. The regulation also states that the ALJ must dismiss a hearing request if
the respondent does not raise a genuine dispute over facts or law
material to the research misconduct findings. 42 CFR 93.504(a)(2). The
ALJ concluded that the determination of whether the hearing request
raises a genuine dispute is a threshold jurisdictional determination.
Thus, the ALJ decided that Dr. Aronica's request did not show a genuine
dispute, because it did not specifically deny any allegation. As a
result, the ALJ concluded that Dr. Aronica's hearing request could not
be granted, but was required to be dismissed pursuant to 42 CFR
93.504(a)(2).
Specifically, ORI found that Dr. Aronica falsified and fabricated
data in:
Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5A, 5B, 5C, 6A, and 6B, and Tables III
and IV in: Aronica, S.M., Mantel, C., Gonin, R., Marshall, M.S.,
Sarris, A., Cooper, S.,
[[Page 16309]] Hague, N., Zhang, X., & Broxmeyer, H.E. ``Interferon-inducible Protein
10 and Macrophage Inflammatory Protein-1 [alpha] Inhibit Growth Factor
Stimulation of Raf-1 Kinase Activity and Protein Synthesis in a Human
Growth Factor-dependent Hematopoietic Cell Line.'' JBC 270:21998-22007,
1995 (September 15) (``JBC paper'').
Figures 1 (both panels), 3A, 3B, 3D, 3E, 4A, and 8A in:
Aronica, S.M., Gingras, A.C., Sonenberg, N., Cooper, S., Hague, N., &
Broxmeyer, H.E. ``Macrophage Inflammatory Protein-1 [alpha] and
Interferon-inducible Protein 10 Inhibit Synergistically Induced Growth
Factor Stimulation of MAP Kinase Activity and Suppress Phosphorylation
of Eukaryotic Initiation Factor 4E and 4E Binding Protein 1.'' Blood 89:3582-3595, 1997 (May 15) (``Blood paper'').
Figures 1B and 2B in: Aronica, S.M., Reid, S.L., &
Broxmeyer, H.E. ``Chemokine Inhibition of Stress-Activated Kinase
Activity in a Human Hematopoietic Cell Line.'' Blood, submitted August
4, 1997 (``Blood manuscript'').
The research was supported by or reported in the following U.S.
Public Health Service (PHS) grants from the National Institute of
Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and the National
Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of
Health:
RO1 HL49202, ``Myeloid Regulation by Growth-Suppressing
Cytokines.''
R01 HL54037, ``Stem Cell Transduction of SLF/FLT-3-Ligand
Genes by AAV.''
R01 HL56416, ``Mechanisms of Synergistic Regulation of
Stem/Progenitors.''
T32 DK07519, ``Regulation of Hematopoietic Cell
Production.''
The following administrative actions have been implemented:
(1) Dr. Aronica has been debarred from any contracting or
subcontracting with any agency of the U. S. Government and from
eligibility or involvement in nonprocurement programs of the U. S. Government referred to as ``covered transactions'' as defined in
the debarment regulations at 45 CFR part 76 for a period of five (5)
years, beginning on February 10, 2006;
(2) Dr. Aronica 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 consultant for a
period of five (5) years, beginning on February 10, 2006; and
(3) Within 60 days of February 10, 2006, the authors of the
following papers will be requested to submit a letter to the editors of Journal of Biological Chemistry and Blood, requesting their retraction
of:
Aronica, S.M., Mantel, C., Gonin, R., Marshall, M.,
Sarris, A., Cooper, S., Hague, N., Zhang, X-f., & Broxmeyer, H.E.
``Interferon-Inducible Protein 10 and Macrophage Inflammatory Protein-1
[alpha] inhibit Growth Factor Stimulation of Raf-1 Kinase Activity and
Protein Synthesis in a Human Growth Factor-Dependent Hematopoietic Cell
Line.'' J. Biol. Chem. 270:21998-22007, 1995.
Aronica, S.M., Gingras, A.-C., Sonenberg, N., Cooper, S.,
Hague, N., and Broxmeyer, H.E. ``Macrophage Inflammatory Protein-1
[alpha] and Interferon-Inducible Protein 10 Inhibit Synergistically
Induced Growth Factor Stimulation of MAP Kinase Activity and Suppress
Phosphorylation of Eukaryotic Initiation Factor 4E and 4
Binding Protein 1.'' Blood 89:3582-3595, 1997.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Director, Division of Investigative
Oversight
Office of Research Integrity
1101 Wootton Parkway, Suite
750
Rockville, MD 20852
(240) 453-8800
Chris B. Pascal,
Director, Office of Research Integrity.
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