Medical school professor Timothy Kuklo resigns after federal probes into Army research
Timothy Kuklo, a researcher and professor at the Washington University School of Medicine, has voluntarily resigned after allegedly falsifying a study, a medical school spokesman confirmed Wednesday evening.
Kuklo, associate professor of orthopedic surgery, submitted a letter of resignation on July 30, effective Sept. 30, according a statement issued by the University.
“Dr. Kuklo has agreed to voluntarily resign from the University, effective September 30, 2009,” the statement said. “Dr. Kuklo will have no clinical, research, or educational duties for the University between now and that date.”
Kuklo has been the subject of federal scrutiny over a study the U.S. Army alleges he falsified while working at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. He performed the study, which was about the benefits of a bone-growth drug, before coming to the University in 2006.
Medical school spokesman Don Clayton declined to comment further on Kuklo’s resignation because school officials are conducting an investigation.
The drug, Infuse, is produced by a Minneapolis, Minn., company called Medtronic, which hired Kuklo back in 2006 as a consultant around the time he came to the University.
The New York Times reported that Medtronic suspended Kuklo from his consulting duties last spring after word of the falsified study came out. The journal in which the study appeared retracted the article.
Medtronic reportedly paid Kuklo $800,000 from 2001 to 2009 to attend conferences while he was in the military. Just recently, the company acknowledged also paying Kuklo to train doctors and speak at conferences on the company’s behalf.
The Army prohibits its doctors from accepting money for consulting without permission. Investigators reportedly found no sign that Kuklo had gotten proper permission. The University said Kuklo also failed to disclose his relationship to Medtronic as part of the school’s required conflict-of-interest filings.
The Times also reported that Kuklo’s Medtronic dealings drew the scrutiny of Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who wrote a letter to the company asking why Kuklo’s name was missing from a list of its consultants.
I cannot speak to the charges that have been levied against Dr. Kuklo…I can only say that I am alive today because of his skill as a surgeon.
I was in a helicopter crash in Iraq in August 2003. The impact shattered my T3 and I had tri-column instability up to the C5. If the crash had happened a few years earlier, I doubt that I would have recovered. But I am alive, and I am still flying. Thanks to Dr. Kuklo.
It is my belief that doctors must continually push the edge of our medical knowledge for the benefit of all.
In a town near where I live two criminals who should have been in jail stole a car and ran over 4 people, 3 who were kids. A man who had a PFA against him and should not have been allowed a gun,shot his wife. A child molester who lived in a town, because he deserved a second chance, raped a child. Yet these people will get out and do it again. High profile politicians break constitutional laws and can get away with it. Here is a doctor with a god given talent to heal and cure. I was deformed and I do mean that in every sense of the word. When I saw my X-rays I was horrified. I thought there would be no hope for me, but Dr. Kuklo assured me that I could look normal and it could be done. After 9 1/2 hours of surgery I was 4 inches taller and straight. For the first time in my life I was straight and had perfect posture, something I did not have since I was a teenager and I was 54 His excellent staff and his excellent bedside manner made the experience wonderful. He came to see me everyday in the hospital and after a month in St. Louis I was allowed to return to my home in Pennsylvania. I am still recovering, but dong much better and am a happier person. My friends cannot believe how straight I am and how good I look. I was going to wait a year because of my job, but something told me do it now and I am so glad I did it because I had the best doctor ever doing my surgery, Dr. Timothy Kuklo.