Dan Markingson

Dan Markingson was a man from St. Paul, Minnesota who died by suicide in an ethically controversial psychiatric research study at the University of Minnesota. For nearly eleven years, University of Minnesota officials defended the conduct of its researchers, despite significant public criticism, numerous news reports, and pressure for an external investigation. In March 2015, an investigation by a state watchdog agency found a number of major ethical violations in the case, including serious conflicts of interest and financial incentives, poor oversight of the study, pressure on Markingson to join the study while he was in a highly vulnerable state, and a series of misleading public statements by university officials. Shortly afterward, the university suspended recruitment into psychiatric research studies. On April 9, 2015, Charles Schulz, MD, announced his resignation as Chair of the Department of Psychiatry.²