NIH Scientist Pleads Guilty

Pearson (Trey) Sunderland III pled guilty on Dec. 8 to charges that he committed a conflict-of-interest violation by improperly accepting nearly $300,000 in consulting fees and other expenses from the drug company Pfizer. The former chief of the now-disbanded Geriatric Psychiatry Branch of the National Institute of Mental Health avoided a possible one-year prison term by accepting a plea agreement. In entering his plea, Sunderland admitted to accepting consulting fees and travel expenses from Pfizer without getting prior permission from NIH or disclosing it to the agency. As part of the agreement, Sunderland will face two years of probation, will be forced to forfeit the $300,000 of income and expense reimbursements stemming from his inappropriate consulting activities, and will have to complete 400 hours of community service. In addition, he will be fined an amount to be determined at his sentencing on Dec. 22. The guilty plea comes two years after conflict-of-interest allegations first surfaced concerning NIH scientists.