FINDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC MISCONDUCT

Release Date:  October 8, 1998

P.T.

Department of Health and Human Services

Notice is hereby given that the Office of Research Integrity (ORI) has made a
final finding of scientific misconduct in the following case:

Katrina Berezniak, M.A., University of Missouri--St. Louis:  Based on a report
forwarded to the Office of Research Integrity (ORI) by the University of
Missouri--St. Louis, Ms.Berezniak's own admission, and information obtained by
ORI during its oversight review, ORI finds that Ms. Berezniak, former Research
Assistant, Department of Psychology, University of Missouri--St. Louis, engaged
in scientific misconduct in clinical research supported by a National Institute
of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant.

Specifically, ORI finds that Ms. Berezniak falsified scoring of taped interviews
of nine subjects.  The scoring was conducted to measure inter-interviewer
reliability in determining whether the subjects had post-traumatic stress
disorder.  The falsified data did not appear in any publications nor were they
included in the study's database.

Ms. Berezniak has accepted the ORI finding and has entered into a Voluntary
Exclusion Agreement with ORI in which she has voluntarily agreed, for the two (2)
year period beginning September 9, 1998:

(1)  to exclude herself from serving in any advisory capacity to the Public
Health Service (PHS) including but not limited to service on any PHS advisory
committee, board, and/or peer review committee, or as a consultant; and

(3)  that any institution that submits an application for PHS support for a
research project on which her participation is proposed or uses her in any
capacity on PHS supported research, or that submits a report of PHS-funded
research in which she is involved, must concurrently submit a plan for
supervision of her duties to the funding agency for approval.  The supervisory
plan must be designed to ensure the scientific integrity of her research
contribution.  The institution also must submit a copy of the supervisory plan
to ORI.

INQUIRIES

For further information contact:

Acting Director
Division of Research Investigations
Office of Research Integrity
5515 Security Lane, Suite 700
Rockville, MD  20852
Telephone:  (301) 443-5330

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