Lawmakers question U-of-M officials about research problems in Psychiatry Department

Lawmakers put U-of-M officials on the hot seat again Tuesday over psychiatric research that some allege contributed to the suicide of a mentally ill man in 2004. Little Canada Democrat Jason Isaacson asked University administrators what’s being done to change the research “culture” in the Department of Psychiatry.  Research Vice President Brian Herman responded the U-of-M has made substantial changes to the way an oversight board reviews research protocols, plus monitors are looking more closely at clinical trials. Lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow a state agency to monitor psychiatric drug trials at the U.