SCIENTIST JAILED 4 YEARS FOR FAKING TO HAVE ACHIEVED A BREAKTHROUGH TOWARDS VACCINE FOR HIV

Dong-Pyou Han, 58, a former Iowa University scientist who altered blood samples to make it look like he had achieved a breakthrough toward a potential vaccine for HIV has been sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison for making false statements in research reports.
 Dong- Pyou Han entered a plea agreement in February in which he pleaded guilty to two counts of making false statements and was ordered to pay $7.2 million dollars to a Federal Government Agency that had funded the research.
Han's misconduct dates back to 2008 when be worked at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland under Professor Michael Cho who was leading a team testing an experimental HIV Vaccine on rabbits.
Han claims he accidentally mixed human blood with rabbit blood making the potential vaccine appear to increase an immune defense against HIV.
He continued to spike the results in order not to disappoint his mentor, Cho after the scientic community became excited that the team could be on the verge of a vaccine.
However, in 2013, a group of researchers at Harvard University found out that the result was achieved with rabbit blood spiked with human antibodies.
Hans attorney, Joseph Herrold, a federal public defender had asked for probation instead of prison.
Judge James Gritzner sentenced Han to 57 months in prison and three years of supervision after release and he must refund $7.2 million to National Institutes of Health who funded the research.
Hans is originally from South Korea but is a lawful permanent U.S. resident.

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