NIH researcher charged with conflict

National Institute of Health researcher Dr. Trey Sunderland will be prosecuted for conflict of interest. The charge stems from an investigation that revealed Sunderland failed to report to the NIH $285,000 in fees he received from Pfizer. "The services he performed for [Pfizer]--including providing hundreds of spinal-tap samples prized for potential genetic clues that might help develop a treatment for Alzheimer's disease--were intertwined with his government duties," reports the Los Angeles Times. The inquiry began after a fellow researcher became suspicious when she discovered that many of the spinal-tap samples she had collected from patients were missing. This marks the first time in 14 years that an NIH official has been charged with this crime.

- read this Los Angeles Times article

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