Controversial Emory researcher leaving

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."