Friday, March 29, 2024

AdvertiseDonateSubmit
NewsSportsArtsOpinionThe QuadPhotoVideoIllustrationsCartoonsGraphicsThe StackPRIMEEnterpriseInteractivesPodcastsBruinwalkClassifieds

Number of research grant fraud cases on the rise, as government works to stop trend

By Andra Lim

Dec. 5, 2011 12:01 a.m.

Reports of fraud in federal research awards have risen in recent years, and universities and the federal government are acting to halt the trend.

The most common types of research grant fraud are theft and embezzlement of funds or making false or fraudulent statements to obtain money, according to the Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions.

On Nov. 2, a UCLA employee was sentenced for defrauding the government of $100,000. Michael Pottenger falsely claimed he was qualified to receive research funds from NASA for a project at his private business.

He was not involved in soliciting research grants or performing research at UCLA.

Though it’s impossible to precisely trace the number of fraud incidents ““ only those that are discovered get tallied ““ there has likely been an increase, said Peggy Fischer, assistant inspector general at the National Science Foundation’s Office of the Inspector General.

For example, between October 2010 and March 2011, the NSF saw four convictions and guilty pleas for criminal cases involving research funds, according to the agency’s semiannual report to Congress.

A decade ago, that number was around one criminal case within a similar time frame.

It is hard to pinpoint what’s driving this trend, experts said.

Some contended that increasing competition for federal research funds could pressure scientists to obtain grants illegally. Others said the shrinking number of awards will make scientists wary of flouting the rules.

Annually, about 70 percent of UCLA’s $1 billion in research grants come from the government.

These awards are crucial for fueling projects and for paying researchers’ salaries. Pinchas Cohen, vice chair for research at Mattel Children’s Hospital and professor and chief of pediatric endocrinology at the David Geffen School of Medicine, runs a laboratory that has been supported by about 15 federal grants over the past two decades.

Among various oversight offices, policies and educational programs, UCLA has a large infrastructure in place to ensure research funds are used ethically, said Marcia Smith, associate vice chancellor of the UCLA Office of Research Administration, whose office employs about 160 staff members.

In 2010, the NSF began requiring all grant recipients to receive training in conducting research responsibly. To comply with this mandate, UCLA implemented an online course for students, faculty and staff involved with grants from the foundation.

NSF grants account for about 6 percent of all the awards UCLA receives.

Since 2009, tens of thousands of UCLA employees have also taken new online courses about research ethics mandated by the UC.

The process of applying for and obtaining grants can now take over a dozen hours longer, Cohen said.

“But if the alternative is not having (the courses), that’s not an option,” he said.

Programs designed to help researchers write grant proposals also indirectly prevent fraud ““ the additional oversight makes fraud less likely, Cohen said.

The Office of Investigator Services within UCLA’s Clinical and Translational Science Institute helps researchers put together grant and budget plans, said Stanley Korenman, professor of medicine and endocrinology at UCLA and the associate dean for ethics at the David Geffen School of Medicine.

In addition, the Strategic Research Initiatives group brings together UCLA researchers to apply for large, interdisciplinary grants, said Erna Aridzanyan, research director of the group in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research.

Other levels of control over research funds have been in place for years. All grants must be signed by a dean or a department head and the Office of Contract and Grant Administration.

Auditors visit the university every day to examine some of the 6,000 expense accounts that track the spending of grant money, Smith said.

But trying to manage research can come at a high cost with potentially small benefits, Korenman said.

“The cost of regulating research is going up dramatically, and I don’t think the product out of it, integrity, is very good,” he said. “If you were determined to commit fraud, you can get away with it.”

And instructing researchers not to commit fraud is like preaching to the choir, said Kenneth D. Pimple, director of Teaching Research Ethics Programs at the Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions at Indiana University Bloomington.

“We assume people know not to steal money,” Pimple said.

Share this story:FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Andra Lim
COMMENTS
Featured Classifieds
More classifieds »
Related Posts