The federal government has issued sanctions against a staff research associate at the University of California at Los Angeles for falsifying and fabricating interviews and urine samples as part of a follow-up study of gender differences in opiate users in California. The federal Office of Research Integrity barred the researcher, James David Lieber, from working on or serving as an adviser on federal grants for the next three years, according to a notice published today in the Federal Register.
A review by UCLA found that Mr. Lieber had fabricated 20 of 53 face-to-face interviews with research subjects assigned to him, as well as their urine samples. The investigation also found that he stole $5,180 in incentive payments and travel expenses.
No word in the Federal Register about how he faked the urine samples. —Jeffrey Selingo
