An Ohio State University researcher has been sanctioned by the Office of Research Integrity for falsifying and fabricating data included in National Institutes of Health grants and in research papers, reports Retraction Watch. Terry Elton, a pharmacology professor at Ohio State, studies microRNA expression and how miRNAs affect disease, especially cardiovascular disease and Down syndrome.
The investigations conducted by OSU and ORI found that Elton falsified and/or fabricated dozens of Western blots included in a number of grants and papers, and concluded that six articles should be retracted — one of which already has been, Retraction Watch notes.
Elton has entered into a three-year voluntary exclusion agreement, in which he agreed 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 … [and] exclude himself voluntarily 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."