A confidential place to go with your questions and concerns about research misconduct.
The RO will provide confidential, impartial, and informal support to members of the UMB research community — including faculty, postdoctoral scholars, students, and staff — who may have concerns or questions regarding research misconduct and other research-related issues, the process of investigating misconduct on campus, or interpretation of UMB research misconduct policies. The RO holds all communications with those seeking assistance in strict confidence and does not disclose confidential communications unless given permission to do so.
As RO, Krueger will serve as an independent and neutral resource to answer questions, provide information and direction, advise in resolving conflicts, clarify avenues for addressing concerns, and support the University community in promoting a culture of integrity in research. The RO will provide advice to the research community outside of and separate from official processes for investigating and resolving allegations of research misconduct (i.e., the Research Integrity Office).
Meetings with the Research Ombuds (RO) are by appointment. To schedule an in-person or virtual meeting with the RO, please email Bruce Krueger at bkrueger@som.umaryland.edu.
The RO will:
- help faculty, trainees and staff determine if a violation of research misconduct policy has occurred
- help UMB researchers examine options for reporting concerns about research misconduct
- answer questions from individuals against whom research misconduct allegations have been made
- facilitate access to other resources such as conflict mediation and counseling as appropriate
About the Research Ombuds
The RO, Bruce K. Krueger, has been on the faculty of UMSOM’s Department of Physiology (now the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology) since 1979. He also holds a secondary appointment as professor of psychiatry. He has been affiliated with the Program in Neuroscience since its inception. Krueger has been active in graduate and medical education as course master and program director and has mentored 15 pre- and postdoctoral trainees. His research has been supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Defense, and AstraZeneca. Krueger has been awarded an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship, an NIH Fogarty Senior International Fellowship, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. His current research is focused on gene-environment interactions in the etiology of neurodevelopmental disorders, particularly autism spectrum disorder and Down syndrome.