Former Vermont researcher sentenced to jail for falsifying work

BURLINGTON, Vt. – A former medical college professor who researched menopause, hormone supplements and aging was sentenced Wednesday to a year in prison for using false data to obtain federal grant money.

The judge said Eric Poehlman, 50, had "violated the public trust," and ordered the former University of Vermont College of Medicine professor to a federal prison work camp in Maryland.

Poehlman's case marked the first time a researcher would serve time in prison for such a crime, according to the National Institutes of Health.

"I generally think deterrence is significant, perhaps more so in this case," Judge William Sessions III said. "The scientific community may be watching."

Poehlman also was permanently barred from obtaining federal research grants, and ordered to write letters of retraction and correction to several scientific journals.

He was accused of falsifying research in applications and papers for several projects, including the effect of menopause on women's metabolism, the impact of aging, the study of metabolism in Alzheimer's patients and the effect of endurance training on metabolism.

In a deal with prosecutors last year, Poehlman pleaded guilty in connection with one $542,000 grant. The government said he defrauded federal agencies out of nearly $3 million.

Poehlman asked the judge for leniency, saying he was under pressure to win federal grants, which "determined your academic wealth."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Kelley told the court, "This is part of a new era when people are taking this kind of conduct more seriously."

In 2001, Poehlman left UVM after more than 13 years for a job at the University of Montreal. But he was fired from there amid revelations about his scientific misconduct in Vermont. Since then he has been working as an elementary and high school teacher.