Amy N. Apodaca claimed to have a master’s degree in sociology from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2006 and a doctorate in demography and population studies/applied statistics from the University of Maryland at College Park.
The statistician, Amy N. Apodaca, was quietly forced to resign in January after admitting she did not earn the doctoral degree she had been claiming.
Inquiries by The Associated Press revealed that she didn’t earn the master’s degree on her resume either, something Army officials said they had not realized.
Managers at the Army Institute of Surgical Research in San Antonio initially rebuffed the whistleblower who tried to tell them about the degree fraud, according to emails obtained by the AP. But Apodaca ultimately quit after her bosses confronted her, the Army said in a statement.
The case raises questions about how she was able to pass a background check and about the vetting procedures at the Institute of Surgical Research, the Army’s leading laboratory for improving the care of combat casualties.
Apodaca worked as a contract employee at the surgical institute from 2007 to 2008 and from 2010 through most of January. She is currently living in Glasgow, Scotland, according to her Facebook page, and did not respond to requests for comment.
Her duties included performing statistical analyses that were sent to the military treatment facilities in war theaters, where doctors used them to evaluate treatment decisions about injured soldiers, according to documents and interviews. She also contributed to scholarly research published in medical journals. She had access to the military’s classified network.
