This is a strange tale of a staid institution whose rules for members are lax enough that even an official investigation that found blatant plagiarism did not qualify as cause for expulsion of an elusive doctor.
The core of the complaint, filed by Dr. Kellerman of the F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., concerns a research paper in which Dr. Noji described some daring emergency medicine work he performed during the 2003 Iraq invasion. But an investigation in 2016 by the Uniformed Services University (a military medical school), where Dr. Noji was an adjunct professor, found that the mission was actually handled by Dr. Frederick “Skip” Burkle Jr., records show. The investigation also concluded that Dr. Noji plagiarized other research papers and misrepresented his credentials, according to the university’s complaint.
Dr. Noji did not respond to multiple requests for an interview, but in a letter in 2016 to the university, he denied wrongdoing.
“I must say that engineering the appearance of blatant plagiarism on my part was absolutely brilliant,” Dr. Noji wrote.
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Correcting the record has become something of a personal mission for Dr. Arthur Kellerman, dean of the military medical school, and a group of high-profile colleagues that includes a former surgeon general, an astronaut and a former White House doctor. They argue that the reputation of their mentor, Dr. Burkle, has been severely damaged and that the good name of both the university and the academy is at stake.
The case has pitted the military medical school, which prides itself on honor and service, against the academy, which considers its members above reproach.
“If you want to try and have an independent effort to investigate, it can be a very significant undertaking, with due process, so that you are confident in the outcome,” said R. Alta Charo, a professor of law and bioethics at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, who is also a member of the academy. “A lot of it will be confidential because they are personnel actions.”
In this case, it wasn’t until Dr. Burkle heard about the plagiarism, years after it occurred, that he notified the military medical school. An investigation by the medical school found that before Dr. Noji was named to the academy, he had plagiarized five research papers, fabricated an account of his personal exploits in Iraq, and claimed unearned degrees and awards, according to the school’s documents. The school dismissed him in May 2016.
But when Dr. Arthur Kellerman asked the academy to dismiss Dr. Noji as well, he hit a roadblock. Nothing in the academy bylaws allowed for ousting a member who had committed scientific misconduct. So Dr. Kellerman, who was on the academy’s governing board, and colleagues, lobbied for the change. Dr. Victor Dzau, president of the academy, supported it.
Formerly known as the Institute of Medicine, the organization is a division of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine and has over 2,000 members in the United States. It accepts about 70 new members from the U.S. a year. It is not a government agency, but it is often relied on as a source of independent, objective analysis for policymakers on subjects ranging from gun violence to regulation of medical devices. There is a long list of researchers who would like the cachet that comes from election to the academy and the high profile that can come from serving on one of its advisory panels.
In a compromise reached in December 2016, in the wake of the Noji complaint, the academy decided that membership could be rescinded if an individual provided false information before becoming a member.
Falsification, plagiarism or fabrication after a doctor becomes a member of the elite organization isn’t grounds for removal, said a spokesman for the organization. They are still considering Dr. Noji’s case.
Brian Martinson, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota, and a specialist in research ethics, believes that’s an unfortunate loophole.
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“That’s crazy,” Mr. Martinson said. “I serve on a district council in my neighborhood and our bylaws are such that if you behave badly while you are on the board of directors we can kick you out.’’
Attempts to reach Dr. Noji at King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he is a professor, according to the school’s website, were unsuccessful. A native of Hawaii, Dr. Noji spent roughly 20 years as a medical officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, leaving in 2008.
In “Notes from the Field: Crisis in Iraq,” published in the International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters in March 2003, Dr. Noji wrote that he played a major role in the disaster assistance response after the invasion.
“Much of my work has been in hospitals, directly with patients and trying to identify the most critical needs of the health system, which has been under strain before, during and after the war,” Dr. Noji wrote.
Dr. Burkle, who was his supervisor on the mission, contradicts the account and say Dr. Noji never visited hospitals or treated patients, and spent just a few hours in Iraq. The university’s investigation confirmed Dr. Burkle’s account, their records show.
Dr. Burkle said he was pleased by the university’s investigation.
“I’m honored because one feels quite alone when this kind of plagiarism or fabrication happens, and not aware that it is happening to others,” Dr. Burkle said. “Everybody wants to avoid the subject. This is the first major step forward.”
Paul Auerbach, a Stanford medical school professor and editor of a popular medical textbook, said he was stunned to receive a call last year from Dr. Kellerman, telling him that a chapter written by Dr. Noji was actually heavily copied from the work of Dr. Burkle and Mark Keim, now retired from the C.D.C. and working as chief executive of DisasterDoc, an emergency services consulting firm. Dr. Auerbach compared the two copies.
“I was shocked, I went ‘oh my goodness!’’’ Dr. Auerbach said. “That was my worst nightmare. Once I saw it, it was a no-brainer. I won’t ever write a paper or publish a book again without putting it through plagiarism checks.”
With Dr. Burkle’s health fragile, Dr. Kellerman and others want Dr. Noji expelled from the academy while Dr. Burkle is still alive.
“He’s a mentor to the entire field,” Dr. Keim said, referring to Dr. Burkle as the father of disaster medicine. “That’s why it hurts us so much.”
Source : Nytimes
