It's no lie: cheating hurts

On Thursday, a prominent scientist finally admitted 10 years of deceptive research after years of inquiry, but he certainly wasn't alone in his dishonesty.\nWe've been inundated with coverage of cheating in baseball and its negative effects on young players, but cheating in any field hurts society. A jury just convicted WorldCom executive Bernard Ebbers for the massive fraud the company imposed on its investors and employees. \nThis winter, patients across the country were startled to learn that pharmaceutical companies had hidden known dangers of Vioxx and other drugs. Of all things to be toying with, health is one of the most dangerous things. \nWhether it's in a boardroom, a locker room or a lab, cheating is destructive and unpatriotic.\nVermont graduate Walter F. DeNino did the University a great service a few years ago when he uncovered the lies his boss, Eric Poehlman, was telling the government and others in grant applications. Poehlman has been a leading researcher in obesity, but the former professor falsified data to get grants, about $3 million worth of research support. \nThe fake numbers made his initial efforts look more successful that they actually were. For a decade, Poehlman's fraudulent conclusions appeared in academic journals. This "scientist" decided his grant money was more important than publishing honest information about people's health.\nPoehlman's cheating applications have taken away millions of dollars from honest scientific inquiry. Betrayals of public trust like this affect us all, whether or not we are researchers. When limited resources are allocated poorly, no matter whose fault it is, progress is slowed down on other work.\nNo cheater wants to be caught, so this professor, companies and baseball players probably felt so secure in their titles and status that by the time they got caught, they would have profited handsomely from lies.\nPoehlman plans to enter a plea agreement which would require him to repay about $200,000, ask for his articles to be retracted and corrected, be banned from ever getting federal money again and possibly be charged with criminal fraud offenses. \nPoehlman did not make a one-time mistake. His pattern had raised concerns among colleagues, according to The Boston Globe, and the University of Vermont began an investigation. Poehlman subsequently resigned from Vermont and was hired at the University of Montreal, but that school apparently was not aware of the UVM inquiry.\nFor 10 years, a respected researcher published lies about people's health. This represents a pattern that should never have begun, let alone have been allowed to continue for a decade. \nAccording to the Globe, Poehlman was very powerful in his field and campus. This position might have permitted his work to undergo less rigorous scrutiny than other researchers. This incident certainly raises questions about whether complacency affects scientific publications and peer-review journals. \nJust one cheater does hurt. We might not feel the effects immediately, but every dishonest person whom we allow to use resources and people is stealing from hardworking, honest folks doing good work and good research. \nScandals such as this one are rare, but they happen too often. Every university and academic publication should take a good look at its biases that might make cheating easier for people like Poehlman.