Despite admitting to intentionally falsifying and fabricating data in cruel tuberculosis experiments on primates, vivisector keeps his job.
Monkeys in restraint devices
In disturbing news, the director of the $40 million Southwest National Primate Center (SNPRC) will retain his full duties despite admitting to intentionally falsifying and fabricating data in cruel tuberculosis experiments on primates.
Warehoused Monkeys
The Office of Research Integrity (ORI), found Dr. Deepak Kaushal
guilty of “intentionally, knowingly, and/or recklessly falsifying
and fabricating the experimental methodology.”
ORI identified 10 separate instances in which Kaushal faked data for
a study that was funded by two government grants, which involved
infecting macaque monkeys with tuberculosis and simian
immunodeficiency virus to study the impact of SIV on tuberculosis
treatment.
Despite his egregious deceit and waste of taxpayer dollars, Texas
Biomedical Research Institute, which oversees SNPRC, has decided to
implement only minor corrective measures involving one year of
research supervision while allowing Kaushal to retain all his duties
as director and continue to receive grant money.
This includes being allowed to continue as principal investigator on
15 NIH-funded grants and co-investigator of 9 other NIH grants,
while overseeing 2,500 marmosets, baboons and macaques.
Caged Baboons
Defending their decision, Lisa Cruz, vice president of
communications at Southwest says that “Dr. Kaushal is an outstanding
and transformative SNPRC director and the misconduct finding is not
directly related to, and does not impact, his administrative
leadership functions.”
But it’s hard to fathom how the faking research data is unrelated to
his duties which involve not only his own research but overseeing
others in that role.
Through this incomprehensible decision, Texas Biomed is
demonstrating just how scientifically insignificant animal
experiments are, while continuing to show their complete disregard
for animal welfare.
Southwest’s prior record of neglect and mistreatment of animals
subjected untold numbers of primates to frostbite during Winter
Storm Uri, requiring 159 baboons to undergo amputations of tails or
digits. In 2012, USDA fined the primate center nearly $26,000 for
violations relating to the deaths of three monkeys in its care.
Ironically, when Kaushal was interviewed in June about problems at
the primate center he told a reporter, "I think what happens is,
nothing is 100 percent. And as employees are working really hard to
take care of the animals, sometimes mistakes are made. And these are
very rare.”
Kaushal cruelly experimented on monkeys while intentionally
falsifying data, wasting taxpayer dollars, inflicting suffering on
animals and lying to the scientific community. It is inexcusable
that he continues to conduct research at, let alone direct, a
primate research center.