BU medical research funded by tanning org.

A Boston University medical researcher who concluded that moderate use of tanning beds can improve health received research funding from the UV Foundation, an organization backed by tanning industry leaders -- a fact not revealed in the study's publication last year.

BU Medical Campus researcher Michael Holick recommended "sensible sun exposure" and the moderate use of tanning beds as ways to combat vitamin D deficiency, in the study published July 19, 2007 in the New England Journal of Medicine. The UV Foundation, along with the National Institutes of Health, was cited as a funding source in the article, though nothing else was said about the group.

Holick's professional ties to Merck, Eli Lilly, Procter & Gamble, Quest Diagnostics, Amgen and Novartis were cited by the NEJM, and "No other potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported," the study article states.

The Wall Street Journal and medical publication The Cancer Letter revealed the connection between the UV Foundation and the tanning bed industry Friday. The group receives donations from the Indoor Tanning Association and tanning bed companies including Future Industries and Executive Tans, according to the UV Foundation website.

The link between Holick and the tanning industry follows the confirmation last month that tobacco giant Philip Morris donated at least $3.99 million to BU since 1995 to fund medical research.

Between 2004 and 2006, Boston University was the UV Foundation's top grant recipient, winning $162,014 in research funding, according to the Wall Street Journal article.

The UV Foundation has promised Holick $150,000 over three years, according to the foundation's website. Following the publication of Holick's article, the UV Foundation praised his work in a press release.

Suspicion about the relationships between researchers and funding backers has grown in light of recent disclosures. The New York Times last month revealed a NEJM-published cancer study by Cornell University researcher Claudia Henschke had been funded by the Foundation for Lung Cancer, a group financed almost entirely by $3.6 million in grants from cigarette maker Liggett Group. Henschke concluded that CT scans could prevent 80 percent of lung cancer deaths.

The BU Medical Center declined comment for this article. Holick did not respond to multiple voicemails left yesterday and the New England Journal of Medicine could not be reached for comment.