Controversial Emory researcher leaving

By Craig Schneider

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Emory University psychiatry researcher whose failure to disclose income from drug companies led to new conflict-of-interest policies is planning to leave the school, officials said Friday.

Dr. Charles Nemeroff, an internationally known expert on depression, had been stripped of his chairmanship over Emory's psychiatry department last December after the university determined he had not disclosed $800,000 in speaking fees from the drug company GlaxoSmithKline.

Emory also prohibited Nemeroff from applying for National Institutes of Health grants for two years.

Nemeroff had also been the central figure in a federal investigation of whether drug company payments to doctors and academics skew research. He had been accepting money from drug companies whose products he had both reviewed and promoted.

Dr. Fred Sanfilippo, Emory's executive vice president for health affairs, revealed Nemeroff's plan to leave the school during a meeting with staff of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday.

"He was a great scientist, a greater leader, who built an outstanding program," Sanfilippo said. "We're sorry to see him leave."

School officials said that while Nemeroff has not yet submitted his resignation, they have been contacted by the institution that hired him. The officials declined to identify that institution, but said an announcement on Nemeroff is expected Monday from the institution.

Attempts to reach Nemeroff Friday were unsuccessful.

Nemeroff was an important money-maker for Emory. Its psychiatry department pulled in more than $22 million in NIH grants in 2007. When his income was questioned, the NIH froze funds for a $9.3 million project, which have since been released.

Sanfilippo said Nemeroff was the focus during a time when Emory's conflict-of-interest policy came under scrutiny and was revised.

"There was lots of blame to go around," he said, regarding the need to improve those policies.

Emory announced new conflict-of-interest policies in June, prohibiting faculty from receiving any compensation or gifts for speaking at industry promotional events.

In a statement released last year, Nemeroff said, "I regret the failure of full disclosure on my part that has led me to the current situation. I believe that I was acting in good faith to comply with the rules as I understood them to be in effect at the time."