Findings of scientific misconduct.

FINDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC MISCONDUCT

Release Date:  March 18, 1999  

P.T.

Department of Health and Human Services

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:  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.

INQUIRIES

For further information contact:

Acting Director
Division of Research Investigations
Office of Research Integrity
5515 Security Lane, Suite 700
Rockville, MD  20852
Telephone:  (301) 443-5330.