Dr. Pat Suarez has been a highly productive postdoc with Dr. Jones at the NIH for three years. Though excited to begin a second postdoc at the University of GreatState (UofG) in a weeks time, Pat is torn. He just received data back for samples he had submitted to the NIH Sequencing Core. The data are from patients with the disease that the Jones lab studies, and the results are expected to provide insights into why some patients are unresponsive to treatment.

Pat offered to undertake the bioinformatics analysis of the data even though he was formally leaving the lab, but Dr. Jones was resistant. He gave as his reason that Pat should immerse himself in the work of his new lab, but he also had in mind that the analysis would be a good first project for the new computationally-trained postdoc scheduled to join the lab in a few days. Dr. Jones reminds Pat of all he has accomplished in three years and assures Pat that he would be co-first author on the primary publication from the project.

Though Pat highly respects Dr. Jones, he decides that Jones couldnt possibly be unhappy if he was able to rapidly analyze the sequencing data after leaving the lab (working evenings and weekends). On his way into lab on his last day, Pat stops to purchase a high-capacity flash drive at his favorite computer supply store and copies the data files. He finally finishes late in the evening; grabs the three lab notebooks hes filled over the years and heads for the door.

A few days later Pat starts work in his new lab. His new PI had purchased a laptop for him, which Pat configures for use on UofGs network. He is eager to get a start on analyzing the data from the Jones lab before getting too busy with new work. When Pat gets home, he immediately loads the data from the flash drive to his new laptop and gets to work.

Answer the following in a paragraph:

1. Apart from the right or wrong of taking a copy of the data, how have Pats actions put the security of the data at risk?

2. It is not uncommon for trainees (as well as other NIH scientists) to finish up projects after leaving the NIH. For someone in Pats situation (i.e., leaving NIH for another training position), what is the appropriate arrangement consistent with NIH data use policy?

3. What additional or different considerations would there be if Pat were leaving NIH to accept a position as independent investigator at a university and planned to continue the project with the patient data collected in the Jones lab? Or what if Pat were starting a job in an industry (unrelated to his research in Jones lab) and wanted to finish writing up his work from the Jones lab on his own time?