Judy Mikovits

Who is Judy Mikovits?

Judy Anne Mikovits was the research director of the Whittemore Peterson Institute, a chronic fatigue syndrome research organization and clinic in Reno, Nevada, USA. Mikovits led a research effort that reported in 2009 that a retrovirus known as xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus was associated with CFS and may have had a causal role, however the research came under fire, leading to an eventual retraction on December 22, 2011 by the journal Science.

In October 2011, Mikovits was terminated by WPI for refusing to turn over her work to another scientist and subsequently came under investigation for alleged manipulation of data in her publications related to XMRV. On November 18, 2011, Judy Mikovits was arrested in her Ventura County, California home. Her lawyer said she was arrested on charges of theft brought by the WPI, but that the charges had no merit. By November 28, after negotiations with the WPI, 18 missing notebooks were returned. Later, the criminal charges against her were dismissed by the Reno, NV District Attorney's office.