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A government committee that designated Hwang Woo-suk a ¡°top scientist¡± will meet next Wednesday to debate whether to strip the disgraced cloning researcher of the title.
Hwang, the first scientist to receive the honor last June, is unlikely to hold on to the title after he was found to have fabricated stem cell research results published in the U.S. magazine Science a month earlier. If Hwang loses the title, it will also end benefits including W3 billion in annual research grants.
Also on Thursday, a Seoul National University panel probing the authenticity of Hwang¡¯s research announced it will decide on Friday when to announce its final report. Sources said Tuesday is a likely date.
The panel also said it was up to the university¡¯s disciplinary committee whether to punish all the co-authors listed in the 2005 article, a decision it would make once the report has been announced. SNU President Chung Un-chan earlier this week vowed the university would get to the bottom of the scandal and take strict disciplinary measures against those involved. SNU will make an official announcement of the university¡¯s position and take ¡°the necessary steps,¡± the panel said -- a hint that Chung himself will make a statement.
Meanwhile, U.S. federal prosecutors have expressed an interest in investigating Prof. Gerald Schatten of the University of Pittsburgh, one of the co-authors, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette reported Wednesday.
The daily said Schatten received two research grants from the National Institutes of Health for research on stem cell cloning techniques in Korea. ¡°It is a federal offense to submit false statements or to provide fraudulent information in connection with a grant application for federal funds,¡± the paper quoted U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan as saying.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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