On Tuesday April 3, Dr. David Eidelman, vice principal (health affairs) and dean of medicine, announced the completion of the preliminary internal review of professor J. Corbett McDonald’s research on the health effects of chrysotile asbestos.

The review was conducted by professor and chair of the department of epidemiology, biostatistics, and occupational health Dr. Rebecca Fuhrer. The results of the preliminary review were published in last Tuesday’s email from McGill’s Media Relations Office (MRO), several weeks after they were planned to be released at a senate meeting in mid-March.

“There was no attempt to delay, it just simply took time to get the information … and decide on the proper course of action,” Eidelman said in an interview with the Tribune. “We are very concerned about research integrity … and that’s why we’re making a careful effort to go through things as they come in.”

Although the internal investigation found no evidence of misconduct, Eidelman has consulted McGill’s Research Integrity Office (RIO) for advice on how to proceed.

“What we’re doing now is not an investigation,”  Eidelman said. “At this point, all I’ve asked for is an opinion from the RIO … on whether there is a basis to proceed with any further investigation.”

McGill came under scrutiny in early February following allegations in an episode of CBC’s The National that McDonald, a retired professor and chairman of the department of epidemiology and health, colluded with the Quebec asbestos industry to downplay the health repercussions of chrysotile asbestos. The CBC documentary also claimed that McDonald received a total of nearly $1 million in research funding from the industry between 1966 and 1972.

In response to the allegations, Eidelman announced on Feb. 9 that the faculty of medicine had decided to launch a preliminary review of McDonald’s work, in order to determine whether McDonald allowed his research to be improperly influenced by the asbestos industry.

“You remember, [this research] was done decades ago … so it was done in a very different context,” Principal Heather Munroe-Blum said to campus media on March 27. “Our dean … has a deep concern about the issues, but the fundamental issue is that of the quality of the research, and that’s being investigated very thoroughly.”

Kathleen Ruff, a senior human rights advisor to the Rideau Institute, is among those actively criticizing McDonald’s research and his connections to the asbestos industry.

Ruff and Dr. Fernand Turcotte, professor of public health and preventive medicine at Laval University, sent an email to Eidelman and Fuhrer on Feb. 12, stating that Fuhrer’s review “fails to meet normal standards of independence and transparency and is being carried out in a climate tainted by a strong perception of bias.”

“[Dean Eidelman] provided no answer [to our Feb. 12 email], which provided examples of improper conduct by Prof. McDonald,” Ruff said in an email to the Tribune. 

Eidelman declared that Fuhrer’s report “did not see any evidence of research misconduct.”

“Dr. Fuhrer was very rigorous and … her results were [based on] the information that she had in hand,” he said. “She looked at all the documents that were available [which] were mostly published material.”

“She tried to look for original data, but did not find any,” Eidelman added.

In the wake of ongoing criticism of McDonald’s research, Eidelman stressed the importance of differentiating between research misconduct and difference of opinion.

“[Research misconduct] means making the effort to either hide, make up, or change data to suit somebody’s other purposes,” Eidelman said. “Some of the allegations involve [disagreement with Prof. McDonald’s opinions] or the way he handled himself.”

Eidelman stated in the April 3 MRO email that he would keep the McGill community informed regarding the RIO’s decision.

Ruff voiced her dissatisfaction with the review process and the results that emerged.

“The internal review was carried out in secret …  No one knows what information was examined,” Ruff said. “The review clearly was not able to be thorough since, as dean Eidelman states, they did not have access to required records and data.”

Ruff also expressed her hope that the RIO will recommend that there be “a proper, transparent investigation.”

“All independent, reputable scientific bodies reject [McDonald’s] position as [based on] dangerous, incorrect information,” Ruff said.

“It is so important that McGill finally show integrity and … stop being a weapon in the arsenal of the international asbestos industry,” she said. “I don’t see how it is possible to sweep all these disturbing allegations under the carpet and dismiss them after an inadequate, internal, secret process.”