Former Maryland dept. chair with $19 million in grants faked data in 13 papers, feds say
A former department chair engaged in research misconduct in work funded by 19 grants from the National Institutes of Health, according to the U.S. Office of Research Integrity.
Richard Eckert, formerly the chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and deputy director of the university’s Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center, faked data in 13 published papers and two grant applications, ORI found.
The ORI finding stated Eckert “engaged in research misconduct in research supported by” every NIH grant on which he served as principal investigator, totaling more than $19 million. The finding also lists multiple “Center Core Grants” worth hundreds of millions for shared resources and facilities at research centers.
Of the 13 papers in which Eckert faked Western blot and microscopy image data, according to ORI, four have been corrected and one retracted, and Eckert must request corrections or retractions for the remaining eight. The 13 papers have been cited 488 times, according to Clarivate’s Web of Science.
