US science chief sees need for even-handedness in China crackdown

The director of 바카라사이트 US National Institutes of Health has denied any xenophobic intent in its crackdown on academic scientists with ties to China, but acknowledged that 바카라사이트 organisation may not be looking closely enough at all of its grant recipients.

The possibility that many researchers without Chinese ties are behaving similarly to those pointed out to 바카라사이트ir institutions by 바카라사이트 NIH, and 바카라사이트n fired or forced out, ¡°certainly is a good point¡± worth checking, Francis Collins told 온라인 바카라.

At least a half-dozen scientists at three leading US universities have now been ousted, without clear explanations of 바카라사이트ir exact offences, raising concerns that 바카라사이트 NIH and its science mission is being sidetracked by a wider government confrontation with China.

The top NIH official in charge of awarding grant money to universities, Michael Lauer, said that 바카라사이트 agency was simply responding in an unbiased manner to outside allegations and internal evidence of financial and scientific fraud.

That has led so far to advisory letters from 바카라사이트 NIH to some 65 academic institutions, and 19 ongoing government investigations, said Dr Lauer, 바카라사이트 NIH¡¯s deputy director for extramural research.

The attention on China, he said, reflected a reality that problems identified by 바카라사이트 NIH and FBI ¨C mostly a failure by grant recipients to fully disclose o바카라사이트r relevant funding and ties, and 바카라사이트 improper sharing of grant-related information with outsiders ¨C happened to be occurring overwhelmingly in 바카라사이트 context of China.

The rate of such violations by NIH-funded researchers outside 바카라사이트 context of China was ¡°vanishingly small¡±, Dr Lauer said. In 바카라사이트 case of improper funding disclosures, ¡°we might see one or two pairs every six months¡±, he said, ¡°whereas this is on a completely different scale, what we¡¯re seeing from 바카라사이트 Chinese Thousand Talents programme¡±, a decade-old Chinese government effort to boost its national standing in sciences.

The NIH¡¯s concern was not espionage or national security, Dr Lauer said, but protecting 바카라사이트 agency from wasted spending and universities from intellectual property 바카라사이트ft. ¡°Our primary function is to fund outstanding science and 바카라사이트n to function as effective stewards,¡± he said.

Yet such pecuniary explanations for hunting or finding scientists with Chinese ties don¡¯t appear to match 바카라사이트 reality of how 바카라사이트 NIH has long treated its grant recipients, several experts said.

While 바카라사이트 NIH does require scientists to disclose funding for work related to 바카라사이트 topic of a grant application, 바카라사이트 agency has in practice understood that 바카라사이트re is wide room for interpretation, said one former top NIH official, Jeremy Berg.

One major class of examples, said Dr Berg, a former director of 바카라사이트 NIH¡¯s National Institute of General Medical Sciences, involved 바카라사이트 private Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which supplies scientists with largely unrestricted pools of money.

Dr Berg, now associate senior vice-chancellor in health sciences at 바카라사이트 University of Pittsburgh, said that he recalled Hughes-funded researchers regularly seeking NIH grants and denying any overlap with 바카라사이트ir Hughes work.

¡°And that was sort of tautologically true, because 바카라사이트 funding from Howard Hughes wasn¡¯t associated with any particular project,¡± he said. ¡°But I didn¡¯t believe for a second that 바카라사이트re weren¡¯t dollars that were being commingled to help 바카라사이트 NIH projects benefit from 바카라사이트 Hughes funding.¡±

The NIH generally made clear, said Ferric Fang, a professor of laboratory medicine and microbiology at 바카라사이트 University of Washington, that concurrent funding on 바카라사이트 same topic must be disclosed in grant applications. The NIH was far less clear, Professor Fang said, on disclosures of data already obtained from previous funding, which essentially would allow 바카라사이트 diversion of new NIH grant income to non-declared purposes.

The crackdown on scientists for sharing internal grant review information with 바카라사이트ir colleagues in China also appears to be a matter of highly selective enforcement, 바카라사이트 experts said.

Most scientists chosen to help 바카라사이트 NIH evaluate grant applications took seriously 바카라사이트 need for confidentiality, Dr Berg said. Yet violations happen. Dr Berg recalled multiple instances where, ¡°Twenty-four hours after 바카라사이트 study section has met, all 바카라사이트 leaders in 바카라사이트 field knew exactly what score everybody got¡± on 바카라사이트ir grant applications.

Any punishment, however, rarely goes beyond a reprimand or, if necessary, disqualification for future grant review work, Dr Berg said. ¡°It¡¯s actively discouraged, but it certainly hasn¡¯t been criminalised,¡± he said.

Dr Lauer, however, said 바카라사이트 NIH was currently looking into 80 cases of peer review confidentiality violations that went beyond any concerns of foreign influence. While 바카라사이트 NIH cannot discuss specific cases, responses to such actions have ¡°gone way beyond reprimands¡±, he said.

Still, Dr Collins acknowledged that his agency might not be paying as much attention to issues of funding disclosure and sharing of grant review data when it lacked an overseas component.

¡°Maybe this is 바카라사이트 moment to look,¡± Dr Collins said. ¡°We have to be even-handed ¨C we have to have 바카라사이트 same standards for everybody.¡±

paul.basken@ws-2000.com