NIH Administrator Claims He Does No ‘Real Work’
NIH health scientist administrator Edward McSweegan says that he has not had "any real work" for the past seven years and performs "occasional tasks more suitable for a typist" or intern, yet receives a $100,000 annual salary, the Washington Post reports. McSweegan was hired by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in 1988 and was the NIH's program officer for Lyme disease. However, after a dispute over his criticism of the Lyme Disease Foundation, an advocacy group, he was removed from that post. In 1996, his supervisors transferred the research grants he administered to other employees and never replaced his duties, according to McSweegan. NIH officials denied the allegations last week but said that they would reexamine the issue after Senate Finance Committee Chair Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), who has accused NIH of "an absolute management vacuum," raised concerns in a letter to HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson. NIH spokesperson John Burklow said that McSweegan has directed the U.S.-Indo Vaccine Action Program, has represented the agency abroad, has "produced reports and other work products" and "has always been assigned duties appropriate to his position and pay level," the Post reports. However, McSweegan said that his superiors never informed him that he was director of the vaccine program, that the Office of Global Health Affairs arranged his trip abroad and that he had only produced brief reports on accounts of meetings. McSweegan said that he has repeatedly raised concerns about his lack of duties, adding, "But I haven't been inclined [to quit] because my wife has a real job and we have compelling family reasons for staying in the area" (Branigan, Washington Post, 7/4).
Chicago Tribune Examines NIH Ethics Investigation
The Chicago Tribune on July 6 examined the ethics investigation of former National Cancer Institute Director Richard Klausner by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has "added fuel to the fiery conflicts between money and integrity in taxpayer-funded scientific research" (Gorner, Chicago Tribune, 7/6). Last month, the committee cited evidence that several current and former NIH employees, including Klausner, accepted cash awards, or "lecture awards," from universities or other institutions that received NIH funds. Some have said that the awards raise conflict-of-interest concerns when they are received by individuals who have control over federal grants that the institutions could receive (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 6/27).
