of Wisconsin-Madison filed 1,015 conflict disclosures for its researchers since 2012, the most of any institution. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was second with 358 disclosures, and the University of California, Los Angeles, was next with 294.

While the worth of NIH-funded researchers’ financial conflicts of interest has not previously been made public, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services inspector general reported last year that the value of NIH grants associated with such conflicts was $1 billion in fiscal 2018.

About 3,000 researchers accounted for the 8,101 significant conflicts disclosed to the NIH. The dataset includes some of the best known names in medical research.

Harvard University expert on aging David Sinclair, named one of the most influential people in health care by Time magazine, reportedfrom biasing the research and report the conflict to the NIH.

In toughening reporting rules, the NIH initially indicated it would require institutions to post details of the financial dealings online. But that requirement was dropped before the final rules were issued, reportedly at the insistence of the White House budget office. In its place, the NIH gave institutions a choice: They could either post the filings online or disclose the information only when asked for it.

A small number of institutions, including the University of Utah, post the financial conflict information online. Most have adopted a convoluted system allowed by the NIH that requires anyone interested to figure out whom to contact, submit a request and then wait up to five business days for the information.

Researchers are required to