The case of Eric K. Noji, B.S., 1977, Stanford University

In an article titled Doctors Urge Elite Academy to Expel a Member Over Charges of Plagiarism , the New York Times discusses action by Dr. Arthur Kellerman as to the membership of Eric K. Noji in the National Academy of Medicine. There was an issue of copying from workers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Agency for International Development. There was also an issue of a non-existent MBA from Stanford University.

From the New York Times on the issue:


But when Dr. Arthur Kellerman asked the academy to dismiss Dr. Noji as well, he hit a roadblock. Nothing in the academy bylaws allowed for ousting a member who had committed scientific misconduct. So Dr. Kellerman, who was on the academy’s governing board, and colleagues, lobbied for the change. Dr. Victor Dzau, president of the academy, supported it.

Formerly known as the Institute of Medicine, the organization is a division of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine and has over 2,000 members in the United States. It accepts about 70 new members from the U.S. a year. It is not a government agency, but it is often relied on as a source of independent, objective analysis for policymakers on subjects ranging from gun violence to regulation of medical devices.



According to Noji's CV at King Saud University, Dr. Noji has a BS from Stanford:


1977-1981 University of Rochester School Of Medicine, Rochester, New York
Doctor of Medicine (M.D.), May, 1981

1973-1977 Stanford University, Stanford, California
B.S., June, 1977
Concentration: Biological Sciences



The CV does NOT include an MBA from Stanford. However, it does include the following:


Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Science. Elected to membership, October 2005. Election to the IOM is considered the highest honor that can be bestowed on a medical doctor in the United States.


As to the copying issue, see also:

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/prehospital-and-disaster-medicine/article/plagiarism-and-copyright-violation/9C771AD67D66E078774014B827F8D4DD

This is an abbreviated version of what appears to be a very sad story.


***BeckersHospitalReview wrote of the Noji case:


Here are six things to know about the case.

1. Dr. Noji was admitted into the NAM in 2005. Dr. Noji has previously held executive roles at the CDC, World Health Organization and in the White House, advising on a number of disease and health-related endeavors. He has also won numerous awards and medals for his work, according to his Facebook page.

2. However, The New York Times notes some of the awards Dr. Noji claims to have won don't exist, and several of his papers and one book chapter were copied from the work of his former colleagues at the CDC and the Agency for International Development, according to a complaint filed by Arthur L. Kellermann, MD, dean of the F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md.

3. In his complaint, Dr. Kellerman specifically cites a research paper in which Dr. Noji described emergency medicine work he performed during the 2003 Iraq invasion. The Uniformed Services University, where Dr. Noji served as an adjunct professor, conducted an investigation in 2016 and discovered the work described in Dr. Noji's paper was actually done by Frederick Burkle Jr., MD, a senior fellow and scientist at the Cambridge, Mass.-based Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and adjunct professor at USU, who served as Dr. Noji's supervisor during the mission.

4. The university's investigation also alleges Dr. Noji plagiarized five research papers, fabricated an account of his research and his experience in Iraq and misrepresented his credentials before he was named to NAM in 2005, according to the The New York Times. USU dismissed Dr. Noji from the medical school staff in May 2016.

5. Dr. Kellerman reportedly brought his concerns to NAM officials with the intent to expel Dr. Noji from the organization. While the move received support from the academy's governing board, its president and various members, the academy's bylaws reportedly do not possess any protocol for ousting a member who commited scientific misconduct, according to the report. A NAM spokesperson told The New York Times falsification, plagiarism or fabrication after a physician is elected to the organization are not grounds for removal.

6. NAM reportedly reached a compromise regarding the complaint against Dr. Noji in December 2016 and issued a rule stating membership into the organization may be rescinded if an individual provides false information prior to becoming a member. The organization is reportedly still considering Dr. Noji's case, according to The New York Times.