Steven Coughlin Saga Recounted In New Book

A new book by New York Times reporter James Risen about the war on terror since 9/11 entitled “Pay Any Price: Greed, Power, and Endless War”  includes a segment chronicling the difficulties encountered in doing research by former Veterans Affairs epidemiologist Steven Coughlin. While studying the health of veterans, Coughlin encountered pressures to suppress or modify data showing possible health effects of war related exposures during the Gulf War and the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

According to Risen, Coughlin came to believe that the VA has a conflict of interest in doing research on veterans’ health because the agency is also responsible for paying benefits when health risks are identified. Coughlin resigned from the VA in 2012 after working there for about 4 years. He testified in Congress in 2013 about the research malpractice he observed and was eventually vindicated by an internal investigation at the VA.

Coughlin received the Research Integrity Award for his courage from the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology at its 2014 meeting.  The segment in Risen’s book is of interest to any researchers working for or with organizations which have a stake in suppressing data. That includes a large cohort of epidemiologists.

ISEE Research Integrity Award

http://tinyurl.com/l42x8bo

News report

VA Concedes Whistleblower's Allegations Were True, Including That It Ignored Veterans' Suicidal Tendencies
http://tinyurl.com/lba3h95

Book Review of Risen’s Book

http://tinyurl.com/m7gvarl