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Dr. Helene Hill learned this the hard way when she stumbled on evidence, nearly two decades ago, in a trash can, that a young assistant in a colleagues' lab was concealing his fabrication of data. But neither the assistant's supervisor (then an un-tenured faculty member) nor the university, nor the government watch dog charged with investigating misconduct believed Hill.
The case dragged on for years, and all the while, "science" based on the original cooked study went on, generating peer-reviewed publications and $2.5 million dollars in new federal grants, all based on the initial refusal to fully examine the evidence of misconduct.
In the end, Hill lost a qui tem lawsuit as well as its appeal. But, the evidence in her statistical analysis points to the certainty that the data was cooked. What Hill learned is that the scientific evidence of misconduct takes a back seat, in the law, to the process that defers to internal politics within universities, including those (like hers) which are notoriously replete with illegal self-dealing, hand-shake agreements, and the promotion of morally bankrupt pursuit of funding and fame at the expense of research standards that protect human health and promote healing.
About the author
Dr Hill graduated from Smith College in 1950 and received a PhD in Biology from Brandeis University in 1964. She has held post-doctoral fellowships at Harvard Medical School and the University of Colorado Medical Center. She rose through the ranks from Assistant Professor to Professor at the University of Colorado Medical Center, Washington University Medical School, Marshall University Medical School and - currently - the Rutgers NJ Medical School. She co-authored more than 70 scientific publications and was awarded the Smith College Medal in 1997.
