A psychiatrist studying the development of psychosis faked data from studies of brain imaging in a grant application to the National Institutes of Health, a U.S, government watchdog has found.
The federal Office of Research Integrity (ORI) announced sanctions against Romina Mizrahi, associate chair of research in McGill University’s department of psychiatry in Montreal, Canada, for “intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly falsifying data” in a grant application to the National Institute of Mental Health.
Mizrahi submitted the grant application in question, R01 MH118495-01, “Imaging nociceptin receptors in clinical high risk and first episode psychosis,” in February 2018; it does not appear to have been funded.
According to ORI, Mizrahi:
knowingly, intentionally, or recklessly falsified the Positron Emission Tomography (PET) data of the binding of radiopharmaceutical [11C]NOP-1A (NOP) in brain regions between the patient group and healthy volunteer (HV) group. Respondent selectively included one (1) and excluded three (3) participants with their PET data in the HV group and selectively excluded four (4) participants with their PET data in the patient group, to falsely state that the NOP binding in the patient group was statistically higher than that in the HV group in Figure 3, right panel, and the corresponding text in grant application R01 MH118495-01.
Mizrahi, formerly of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and University of Toronto, agreed to have her research supervised for one year. The ORI did not indicate whether she admitted to their findings of misconduct, and she did not immediately respond to our request for comment.
Mizrahi has received more than $4 million in NIH grants since 2014, and is a principal investigator on 13 grants or renewals.
Some of that funding was behind a study that found “long-term cannabis use could be elevating stress and anxiety levels in young adults,” according to a 2019 story by the CBC.
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research has granted Mizrahi nearly $3 million CAD, including to fund the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health from 2012-14. None of her papers appear to have been retracted to date.
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“Mizrahi, formerly of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and University of Toronto, agreed to have her research supervised for one year.”
Wow. Punishments like that for “intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly falsifying data” is sure to stop others from doing the same thing. Or even stopping Mizrahi in the future. Get past the one year supervised research period and right back to the hanky panky.
“One year supervised research period”… LOL
“None of her papers appear to have been retracted to date.”
Every one of her papers must be scrutinized.
Liars and cheaters don’t just lie and cheat once.
Interesting to see the punishment here vs. what a South Asian researcher would get.
Of course, there probably wouldn’t have been any investigation at all, if she hadn’t also helped expose the negative effects of cannabis abuse.
You mean like when it gives people the munchies?
“Mizrahi, formerly of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and University of Toronto, agreed to have her research supervised for one year.”
ORI still being a Potemkin agency with no actual impact.