Fake AIDS Vaccine From 2013

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ISU Researcher Produced Fake AIDSVaccine Results That Raised $19 Millionin Federal Grants for the School

(Photo : Flickr/CC) Han falsified his results by adding human blood to his rabbit blood samples (notpictured).

Iowa State University (ISU) researcher Dr. Dong Pyou Han hasresigned after admitting to research fraud in his work to find avaccine for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Han admitted to doctoring rabbit's blood to make his vaccine appearto work better against the virus. An ISU spokesman told the DeMoines Register Han admitted reasonability and resigned inOctober.

His fake results helped ISU gainmillions of dollars in federal

grants, said Dr. James

Dec 26, 2013 02:36 PM EST

By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

([email protected])

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Bradac, who works for theNational Institutes of Health asan overseer for AIDS vaccinegrants.

He told the Register Monday that Han apparently added humanblood components to the rabbit's to alter the results. Han used theblood of people who had produced antibodies to HIV and, whenadded to the rabbit's blood, made it appear that the vaccine wasbuilding a natural defense to the virus.

"This positive result was striking, and it caught everybody'sattention," Bradac said.

According to a federal inquiry released Monday, Han's results werepresented at scientific meetings over a period of several years.Other institutions reportedly began trying to replicate ISU's results,but were unsuccessful, leading to skepticism.

John McCarroll, an ISU spokesman, said research team leader Dr.Michael Cho was alerted in January about the suspicion. To thatpoint, the team's fraudulent research was billed as having "excitingresults."

"At Iowa State's request, the research samples in question wereexamined by researchers at another university; they confirmedsamples had been spiked," McCarroll wrote in an email to theRegister, adding that Han was revealed as the suspect in August."He later admitted responsibility and resigned from Iowa State,effective Oct. 4, 2013."

Bradac said Cho and Han worked together for 15 years and the twotransferred to ISU from Case Western Reserve University in Ohio.The team's total of federal grants reached about $19 million.

Bardac said Han most likely acted alone and Cho had noknowledge of the fraudulent activity. As such, McCarroll confirmedCho will not be facing any disciplinary action.

Dr. Ivan Oransky, a physician and medical journalist, wrote aboutthe sanctions against Han and said the researcher will be bannedfrom participating in federally funded work. He said it is a harshpenalty, but also that he would like to see such activity punished bythe federal government.

"This is fraud, and the question is whether it's a big enough case forthe government to go after," Oransky said, according to theRegister. "I think it's time for the government to criminally prosecutemore of these cases."

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Fake AIDS Vaccine From 2013