International - Misconduct Cases
Australian Misconduct Case Questions System
Volume 11, No. 4, September 2003
The handling of allegations of scientific misconduct made against a prominent medical researcher and clinician at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia is raising questions about the adequacy of the present system of investigating misconduct, according to Science.
The researcher is accused of misrepresenting and fabricating experimental results, manipulating authorship credit in presentations and papers, and providing false data on a federal grant application by three members of his laboratory.
Several months after making the allegations, the whistleblowers broadcast their charges on ABC radio to put pressure on the university. Two days later, the UNSW Council ordered an outside inquiry and an internal review of university procedures for responding to allegations.
No national body exists in Australia to handle research misconduct allegations. Each institution sets its own procedures in compliance with relevant state employment or anti-corruption laws.
A former state commissioner for health care complaints in Australia questioned whether institutions can effectively investigate serious scientific misconduct that threatens their reputations and their bottom lines.
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