Information Asymmetry and Constructive Denial: Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou Seek HHS-OIG Records for NIH Grant R01NS082304
On November 10, 2024, Dr. Bradley Foerster and Dr. Myria Petrou wrote directly to HHS Inspector General Christi Grimm and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dedra Curteman regarding what Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou described as the constructive denial of FOIA requests concerning HHS-OIG Case No. 5-17-0-0192-4 and the investigation involving Dr. Foerster’s ALS NIH Grant R01NS082304.
The outstanding requests sought records concerning the case itself and records showing whether the subjects of the investigation had ever been notified.
The notification question was significant because Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou had not known that the HHS-OIG investigation was occurring. University of Michigan leadership, however, had contemporaneous knowledge of the investigation.
The November 10 correspondence pointed Inspector General Grimm and Assistant U.S. Attorney Curteman directly to Dean Marschall Runge’s September 2018 Charge Letter, which referenced the ongoing HHS-OIG investigation during the Regents’ Bylaw 5.09 proceedings against Dr. Foerster.
Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou also asked whether HHS-OIG’s records would document the concerns they had reported about Dr. Robert Welsh’s work on NIH Grant R01NS082304. Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou questioned the University’s use of that reporting against Dr. Foerster in the Bylaw 5.09 proceedings.
The information asymmetry was stark and is visible in the contemporaneous record: University leadership knew of the federal investigation while Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou did not. Years later, Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou were still seeking the underlying case records and records showing whether the subjects of the investigation had ever been notified.
The correspondence attached Dean Runge’s September 2018 Charge Letter and records from the Medical School Ad Hoc Committee proceedings.
HHS-OIG Case 5-17-0-0192-4 Documentary Chronology
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Selected Reporting
- Bradley Foerster Submits 140-Exhibit, 1,121-Page Documentary Chronology to FBI for Supervisory Review of the Investigation Involving Dr. Bradley Foerster, Dr. Myria Petrou, and Duaa Altaee
- From One FBI File to a Legislative Proposal: Peter and Maria Foerster Ask Senator Van Hollen's Office and Congressman Jamie Raskin to Consider a Uniform Administrative Framework for Federal Investigations
- Eva Feldman Documentary Chronology: 139 Exhibits on NIH R01NS082304, University Proceedings, and Federal Investigation — No Response Received
- Bradley Foerster and Myria Petrou Send Ann Arbor Officials Documentary Chronology on AAPD and Related Federal Investigations — No Response Received
- Timothy Lynch Documentary Chronology: 63 Exhibits on University of Michigan Office of General Counsel, University Investigations, and Law Enforcement — No Response Received
- Bradley Foerster and Myria Petrou Documentary Chronology: 8 Exhibits Document More Than Two Years of Efforts to Trace Bank of Ann Arbor's $1.4 Million Sheriff's Sale Credit Bid — No Response Received
Brad Foerster, MD PhD
Brad Foerster is a FOIA advocate documenting requests, transparency disputes, and accountability investigations involving public agencies, universities, police oversight, and Russia-Gate related inquiries. His work compiles original documents, timelines, and analysis of public records and institutional responses. Brad is also a board-certified radiologist, author of Town & Gown, and has published over 40 peer-reviewed articles. Brad lives in Potomac, Maryland with his family and is a member of the Montgomery County Medical Society and the Takoma Park U.S. & World History Book Club.