Rehabilitation clinics, an option for treating people with addictions, served as inspiration for James Dubois, a professor of ethics at the University of Saint Louis, United States, to develop a recovery program for researchers who had committed misconduct in the past, but want a second chance. Convinced that training to prevent scientific misconduct is not sufficient, Dubois created RePAIR (Restoring Professionalism and Integrity in Research), which, like a conventional private clinic, charges its clients a high fee: a three day stay costs $3,000. The recovery method includes an evaluation of errors committed, a discussion of good practices and, finally, the establishment of an individual prevention plan to avoid a relapse. The program received $500,000 from the National Institutes of Health. Critics argue that the money should be used to fund scientific education and prevention mechanisms rather than remediation.
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