I've blogged on the subject of research integrity and conflicts of interest by researchers and research funders -- whether they be pharmaceutical companies or government health agencies. This past week, Dr. David A. Shaywitz, an endocrinologist at Mass General Hospital, weighed in with a helpful op ed piece in the Boston Globe. Said Shaywitz: "The quaint notion that university researchers operate on a higher moral plane than business people might be charming if the implications weren't so profound: attention-getting results can lead directly to employment, promotion, and prizes, all leading to personal gain. Not surprisingly, some of the most notorious perpetrators of research misconduct have been academic investigators with no company relationships." Shaywitz doesn't offer the funding source for those "with no company relationships," but it seems clear: government agencies.
Shaywitz concludes sagely:
Coming up with novel treatments for dreadful diseases is a difficult enough task under the best of circumstances; let's not complicate this mission further by misjudging either the intrinsic virtue of academic scientists or the alleged venality of drug companies; instead let us learn how to foster productive, transparent collaborations so that the promise of modern science can be realized inthe treatment of our patients.
Nice touch, ending with a call for a health outcomes focus.
