Closer Look
Cleared of fraud and now free to speak, MIT professor asks what went wrong
MIT
There are two sides to this story, but for almost four years only one party could tell theirs. In 2019, MIT colleagues publicly accused Ram Sasisekharan (above) and his lab of falsifying research related to therapeutic antibodies for Zika virus and influenza. During a lengthy internal investigation that sidelined his work and decimated his team, he was required to remain silent. In March MIT's vice president for research said in an internal email that the investigation had concluded "with no finding of research misconduct for any of the submitted allegations."
Only one of Sasisekharan's accusers responded to requests for comment from STAT's Damian Garde, saying he stood by the allegations. For the three scientists — down from 18 — remaining in Sasisekharan's lab, it may not feel like it's over. For his part, Sasisekharan is asking what can be learned from his experience. "I've been through a negative journey, and I want something good to come out of this," he said. Read more.
politics
Walensky answers GOP questions as her CDC tenure nears its end
The shots were predictable and outgoing CDC Director Rochelle Walensky was able to parry them yesterday during a House hearing critical of her pandemic leadership. She was asked about her comments on whether Covid-19 vaccines prevent transmission of the disease, how much influence teachers' unions had over guidance for protocols in schools, how the agency collects data — and why she wasn't wearing a mask.
Queried about gain-of-function research, she referred questions to the NIH. On CDC officials' relationships with social media companies regarding vaccine misinformation, she declined to comment while it's being litigated. When Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) pressed her on whether she plans to work for Moderna or Pfizer, Walensky said she doesn't have plans after she leaves her position, and the CDC doesn't purchase vaccines. On masks, she pointed Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.) to current hospitalization data. STAT's Rachel Cohrs has more.
addiction and law enforcement
A case for why we can't arrest our way out of the opioid crisis
They call it the "drug bust paradox": Police actions were followed by a large and sudden spike in opioid overdose deaths, researchers report in a new paper. And in the Indianapolis neighborhood they studied, not only did fatal overdoses double, but calls to 911 and use of naloxone, the overdose-reversal medication, also surged. Authors in the American Journal of Public Health hesitate to make a causal link between law enforcement and later drug deaths, but the association fits with what they hear in the field.
One possible explanation: When police officers arrest drug dealers, their regular customers lose their supply. Facing with agonizing withdrawal symptoms and with addiction treatment difficult to access, many simply find other dealers. "We're learning that it's not just the drugs in the drug supply — it's the fluctuation and unpredictability and the risk of misjudging your dose," study co-author Jennifer Carroll told STAT's Lev Facher. Read more.
On this week's episode of the "First Opinion Podcast," First Opinion editor Torie Bosch speaks with Gabriel Bosslet and Tracey Wilkinson about "good trouble" and lessons learned from what their friend Caitlin Bernard, an OB-GYN in Indiana, lived through after she said she'd performed an abortion on a 10-year-old Ohio girl who had been raped. Listen here.
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