[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 93 (Friday, May 13, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Page 29871]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-11317]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Office of the Secretary
Findings of Research Misconduct
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, HHS.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Office of Research Integrity
(ORI) has taken final action in the following case:
John G. Pastorino, Ph.D., Rowan University School of Osteopathic
Medicine: Based on an assessment conducted by Rowan University School
of Osteopathic Medicine (RUSOM), the Respondent's desire to conclude
the matter, and analysis conducted by ORI in its oversight review, ORI
found that Dr. John G. Pastorino, Associate Professor, Department of
Molecular Biology, RUSOM, engaged in research misconduct in research
supported by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
(NIAAA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), grant R01 AA012897 and
National Cancer Institute (NCI), NIH, grant R01 CA118356.
ORI found that Respondent engaged in research misconduct by
intentionally falsifying and/or fabricating data reported in the
following eight (8) published papers, one (1) unpublished manuscript,
and one (1) NIH grant application:
J. Cell. Sci. 123:894-902, 2010 (hereafter referred to as ``J.
Cell. Sci. 2010a'')
J. Cell. Sci. 123:4117-4127, 2010 (hereafter referred to as
``J. Cell. Sci. 2010b'')
J. Cell. Sci. 125:2995-3003, 2012 (hereafter referred to as
``J. Cell. Sci. 2012'')
J. Cell. Sci. 126:274-288, 2013 (hereafter referred to as ``J.
Cell. Sci. 2013'')
J. Cell. Sci. 127:896-907, 2014 (hereafter referred to as ``J.
Cell. Sci. 2014'')
Biol. Open. 1-11:10;bio.014712, 2015 (hereafter referred to as
``Biol. Open. 2015'')
BioChim Biophys Acta. 1827:38-49, 2013 (hereafter referred to
as ``BioChim Biophys Acta. 2013'')
J. Biol. Chem. 289:26213-26225, 2014 (hereafter referred to as
``J. Biol. Chem. 2014'')
J. Cell. Science, Submitted manuscript, 2015 (hereafter
referred to as ``J. Cell. Sci. manuscript 2015'')
R01 HL132672-01, ``Regulation by Sirtuin-3 and Mitoneet of the
Permeability Transition Pore in Heart during Ischemia/Reperfusion
Injury,'' John Pastorino, Ph.D., Principal Investigator ORI found that
Dr. Pastorino falsified and/or fabricated Western blot data for
mitochondrial function related to cell/tissue injury, in fifty-eight
(58) blot panels included in forty-two (42) figures in eight (8)
publications, one (1) unpublished manuscript, and one (1) grant
application. In the absence of valid Western blot images, the
Respondent fabricated and/or falsified quantitative data in associated
bar graphs, statistical analyses presented in figure legends, and
related text.
Specifically, ORI found that Respondent duplicated images, or
trimmed and/or manipulated blot images from unrelated sources to
obscure their origin, and relabeled them to represent different
experimental results in:
Figures 2A, 2C, 3B, 5A, 7B, and 8A in J. Cell. Sci. 2010a
Figures 2B, 5A, 6A, and 6B in J. Cell. Sci. 2010b
Figures 1A, 2A, 2B, 4C, 5A, 5B, 6A, 7A, 7B, and 7C in J. Cell.
Sci. 2012
Figures 4F, 5H, and 6A in J. Cell. Sci. 2013
Figures 1B, 2B, 2C, 3A, 3B, and 4D in J. Cell. Sci. 2014
Figures 3A and 6B in Biol. Open 2015
Figure 2A in BioChim Biophys Acta. 2013
Figures 1B, 3A, 4D, 5E, and 6C in J. Biol. Chem. 2014
Figure 3A in J. Cell. Sci. manuscript 2015
Figures 3, 8A, 12, and 13A in R01 HL132672-01 NIH grant
application
Dr. Pastorino has entered into a Voluntary Exclusion Agreement
(Agreement) and has voluntarily agreed for a period of five (5) years,
beginning on April 27, 2016:
(1) To exclude himself from any contracting or subcontracting with
any agency of the United States Government and from eligibility or
involvement in nonprocurement programs of the United States Government
referred to as ``covered transactions'' pursuant to HHS' Implementation
(2 CFR part 376 et seq.) of OMB Guidelines to Agencies on
Governmentwide Debarment and Suspension, 2 CFR part 180 (collectively
the ``Debarment Regulations'');
(2) that he will neither apply for nor permit his name to be used
on any application, proposal, or other request for funds to the United
States Government or any of its agencies, as defined in the Debarment
Regulations; Respondent will further ensure that during the period of
the voluntary exclusion, he will neither receive nor be supported by
funds of the United States Government and its agencies made available
through grants, subgrants, cooperative agreements, contracts, or
subcontracts, as discussed in the Debarment Regulations; and
(3) to exclude himself from serving in any advisory capacity to the
U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) including, but not limited to, service
on any PHS advisory committee, board, and/or peer review committee, or
as a consultant.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Director, Office of Research
Integrity, 1101 Wootton Parkway, Suite 750, Rockville, MD 20852, (240)
453-8200.
Kathryn Partin,
Director, Office of Research Integrity.
[FR Doc. 2016-11317 Filed 5-12-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4150-31-P