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Duke returns grant awarded to disgraced researcher

Duke University is returning $437,000 in research funding that was awarded to a former faculty member who exaggerated his credentials, a spokesman said Wednesday.

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DURHAM, N.C. — Duke University is returning $437,000 in research funding that was awarded to a former faculty member who exaggerated his credentials, a spokesman said Wednesday.

The money was part of a $729,000 American Cancer Society grant to Dr. Anil Potti in 2007. The organization stopped payment on the rest of the grant in July after questions arose about his research.

Potti, who resigned last month, had been associate professor of medicine at Duke's School of Medicine and the university's Institute for Genome Science & Policy.

Duke suspended patient enrollment in the three clinical trials in July after learning that Potti exaggerated his credentials, including claiming that he was a Rhodes scholar. The university placed him on administrative leave while officials investigated the claims.

Two published papers based on his research have been retracted in recent weeks after a collaborator said the results of Potti's work couldn't be reproduced.

Duke has no plans to seek restitution from Potti, said Douglas Stokke, spokesman for Duke University Health System.

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