Overseas briefing - United States - Top psychiatrist quits over cash

A payment scandal involving an eminent psychiatrist has prompted Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, to announce new measures for handling potential conflicts of interest. The university has created a new committee to evaluate the activities of its researchers after an incident involving Charles B. Nemeroff. He remains under investigation by the university after allegedly accepting $2.5 million (£1.6 million) in payments from pharmaceutical companies between 2000 and 2007, of which he disclosed only half to the university. This - a violation of university and federal policies - has prompted Dr Nemeroff to step down from his post as head of Emory's psychiatry department, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported.