A psychiatry researcher who received a warning letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration earlier this year committed research misconduct, another federal watchdog found.

The ORI’s findings detail how in five published papers, Bret Rutherford reported that 45 research participants were eligible for clinical studies, when in fact they were taking antidepressants or other medications that should have excluded them from participation. The false reporting affected "the reported clinical research methods and results" of the five articles, the ORI’s finding stated.

Rutherford agreed to a three-year ban on U.S. government funding, effective 27 September 2024, followed by a three-year period of supervision for any research conducted with funding from the U.S. Public Health Service, which includes the National Institutes of Health.