Jeffrey Wang, an associate professor of orthopedic surgery, has been fired from his position as executive co-director of the UCLA Comprehensive Spine Center while the university investigates charges of misconduct.
Wang has been accused by Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley of accepting nearly $460,000 from medical companies whose products he was researching between 2004 and 2007, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Wang, who remains on faculty as an associate professor, could not be reached for comment.
Sen. Grassley could not be reached for comment.
In a recent statement, UCLA said it has not found evidence of federal misconduct on Wang’s behalf but acknowledged that Wang failed to disclose certain financial interests.
“UCLA understands that conflict-of-interest policies that provide the highest level of transparency and accountability are critically important,” the statement read. “UCLA regrets that in the case of Dr. Jeffrey Wang “¦ a pattern of non-disclosure could have persisted without our knowledge.”
The university has commissioned an independent committee to determine whether there have been any skewed effects on the quality of his research.
The university, according to the statement, is also considering whether further action against Wang should be taken.
In the meantime, the David Geffen School of Medicine has introduced a new disclosure policy for faculty that will supplement an existing, annual disclosure process for reporting outside activities.
The investigation comes just weeks after the School of Medicine was awarded a rare A grade by the American Medical Student Association for maintaining a strict conflict-of-interest policy, according to Daily Bruin archives.
UCLA declined to comment further on the incident.