Prof leaves U. after admitting misconduct

After admitting to allegations of scientific misconduct before a University investigative committee, Assitant Psychology Professor Adele Diamond has agreed to leave the University at the end of this semester. The University first became aware of Diamond's wrongdoing last year when a laboratory employee accused Diamond of falsifying data and altering a letter of support from another University employee in a grant application. The employee, who subsequently left the lab, notified School of Arts and Sciences Associate Dean Frank Warner, a mathematics professor, of the charges. But although Diamond has confirmed the accusations, she said her actions have been misunderstood. Diamond studies children afflicted with Phenylketonuria, a genetic disease that causes brain damage and mental retardation. She researches whether treatment completely corrects cognitive disabilities that result from the disorder. Her lab employees film sessions with the children and record their findings. Research assistants then watch the videos to confirm and code the data. In a progress report to the March of Dimes, which partially funds the research, Diamond used data that the initial tester found. But Diamond said she had sensed that the employee made errors when recording the information. Diamond said she adjusted the data in the report to what she thought would be the outcome -- which Diamond said clarified the data without changing the general findings -- before the research assistants completed a detailed analysis. According to Warner, a lab employee altered the data. "What I presented to the March of Dimes was almost identical to what came out later," Diamond said. "When I reported my results to the federal government, I did so accurately. It's not as if I was trying to change how people viewed my grant." The March of Dimes relinquished its funding after the University notified the agency of Diamond's misconduct. In a related project, Diamond applied for funding from the National Institutes of Health. University Laboratory Animal Resources Director Jeffrey Linn wrote a letter supporting Diamond in her grant application because she conducts research on rats to find the mechanism that causes the defect in the children. Diamond discussed her research with Linn before he wrote the letter and then read it before he sent it to the NIH. But Linn failed to include in the letter certain aspects of the research that he discussed with Diamond. Rushing to finish the application on time, Diamond said she asked a lab employee who worked on the project with her to add details about the research procedure. Linn was out of town and would not return until after the grant's deadline. "Everything that was added was truthful and didn't in any way misrepresent the truth," Diamond said. "What I should have done was add an addendum to the letter." Diamond added that during the University's investigation of the employee's charges, Linn wrote a letter to the committee confirming that the information she added was accurate. The NIH has maintained Diamond's grant and is funding a second project. A preliminary committee, made up of University faculty, conducted an initial investigation to determine whether a formal committee should examine the situation further. The preliminary committee also met with Diamond to discuss the allegations. She admitted to the accusations the day after she met with the committee. "Given the kind of person I am it wouldn't be possible for me to meet with the committee and tell them something that wasn't true," Diamond said. "I couldn't have done it any other way." A formal committee then convened to determine whether misconduct had occurred. Warner supervised the process, but School of Arts and Sciences Dean Rosemary Stevens made the ultimate decision regarding what action the University should take. Under Stevens' direction, Diamond was asked to leave the University by May 15. When assessing the charges, Warner said the fact that Diamond's results supported what was reported to the March of Dimes did not affect the University's decision. "The issue was did she or did she not falsify data," Warner said. "And the answer to that question is yes. The fact that it was carried out by lab workers under her direction gives them the wrong view of how someone does science." Acknowledging that her actions merit punishment -- though not as harsh as what the University decided -- Diamond emphasized that her misconduct does not reflect her research. "Nobody has questioned the value of the research," Diamond said. "It was clearly done well and has potentially important implications for helping children." Diamond would not reveal where she plans to work after leaving the University.

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