Should Stewart and Feder be reinstated in their former jobs? Many people familiar with their case -- even some who respect the role Stewart and Feder have played as scientific whistle-blowers -- voice doubts that their old positions at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) were appropriate ones for their activities.
"They started out as scientists," notes Kenneth J. Ryan, chairman of the federal Commission on Research Integrity-- which heard testimony recently from the two men--and a professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology at Harvard Medical School. "They then became individuals who were interested in the whole matter of scientific integrity and, on their own, created that interest for themselves.
"Whether or not they should be doing that, rather than a division of the [HHS] assistant secretary's office, under ORI, is one of the things the commission may be thinking about and discussing. A ...
