|
Federal prosecutors are pursuing a former Michigan State University employee suspected of faking the theft of a dangerous mutant strain of pig bacteria last fall as a ruse to hide the alleged misuse of $750,000 in research funds.
Revelation of the probe came during hearings last week before the House Appropriations subcommittee, and took Michigan State University executives by surprise. The school had been holding off on its own investigation out of deference to an ongoing federal inquiry, Robert Huggett, Michigan State's vice president for research and graduate studies, told The Scientist.
In her debut statement before Congress on Feb. 26, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Inspector General Phyllis K. Fong revealed that the virulent strain of pig pneumonia bacteria that was reported stolen from the laboratory of Martha Mulks last September never existed, a fact revealed in a joint investigation by Fong's office, the FBI and university police.
USDA-IG chief of investigations Jon Novak, who testified with Fong, told the House committee that research which was supposed to have been done under a $750,000 grant to develop vaccines against Actinobaccilus pleuropneunoiae had not been done. The alleged break-in was a cover-up that could result in charges, he said.
"We've heard that before," Huggett said, referring to the prospect of charges against an individual whom he would identify only as a former university employee.
Mulks declined to comment on the case while the investigation is ongoing or to identify the person alleged to have falsified research then tried to cover it up. Noting Huggett's public remarks identifying the suspect as a former university employee, Mulks did assure The Scientist, "I am a current employee, have been for 20 years and plan to be for another 20 years."
Now that the USDA has gone public with the probe, Huggett said, Michigan State will proceed with a separate examination of its security systems. "We have been waiting around since October to start an independent investigation. We still had not received permission when, to our great surprise and chagrin, the inspector general makes this public," Huggett said.
But Michigan State welcomed the chance to defend its security systems, he added. The school's security was targeted for criticism in September, when the bacteria strains supposedly went missing.
"We have the highest security you can get, but when it's an inside job, it's pretty tough," Huggett said.
Campus police, working with the FBI, had identified a suspect within 24 hours of the supposed theft, he said. Even before the suspect was in hand, the school had alerted state and federal authorities that the bacteria was on the loose, threatening the health of the nation's swine herds.
In early September, a highly dangerous mutant strain of the bacteria as well as the naturally occurring pathogens were reported missing. Lab notebooks and computer disks documenting the research also disappeared, prompting speculation that the alleged break-in could be related to bioterrorism.
"By December it was clear after some findings and testing specimens that there was no mutant strain out there, and that in fact one never existed," Huggett said. Michigan agricultural authorities notified swine farmers in December that the Michigan State vaccine research was fraudulent.
References
|
Register for FREE Online Access
Subscribe to the Magazine