To the editor,
On behalf of my client, Dr. Monica Kraft, I am writing in response to the article published by The Daily Pennsylvanian entitled “Duke to pay $112.5 million in response to research fraud allegations.”
That article suggests that Dr. Kraft was implicated in fraudulent conduct. That charge is based solely on the interpretation of unproven allegations. The fact is, Dr. Kraft was never named as a defendant in any case, even after the Justice Department and other federal agencies undertook their own investigation. She was not consulted about the resolution of the case, and is not party to any settlement.
There was no attempt by your paper to contact Dr. Kraft for comment prior to publication. If anyone from the DP had taken that step, they would have learned that she promptly notified both the appropriate University authorities and federal grant sources of her concern, and cooperated fully in the subsequent internal and external investigations into the misconduct that gave rise to the settlement. At each stage, Dr. Kraft evinced a commitment to scientific integrity.
Dr. Kraft is a preeminent leader in her field and has a distinguished track record as a clinician, teacher and researcher. The article in question wronged her, and we hope this letter sets the record straight.
Martin J. Weinstein
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP
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