Growing Trend

These days, it is not unusual for the N.I.H. to look to business to participate in public-private partnerships to fund medical research. When an N.I.H. center is seeking outside funding from the private sector, it starts by submitting a “request for collaboration” to a steering committee of the N.I.H. and the foundation based in the office of the director of the N.I.H., Dr. Francis Collins.

For the moderate drinking trial, the alcohol abuse institute signed an agreement with the foundation that said, “Under no circumstances shall N.I.A.A.A. or its representatives communicate directly with any Donor in order to raise funds for the project or to disclose to any Donor any information” about “the name and affiliation of the awardee” or “details and information relevant to the award.”

But by the time the institute submitted the request for outside funding in early 2015, its officials and outside scientists had already met with alcohol industry executives. Representatives of beer and liquor companies had already heard directly from Dr. Mukamal.

The alcohol abuse institute took an extra step to secure Dr. Mukamal’s position as top contender for the grant. While N.I.H. grants are supposed to be awarded on a competitive basis, the institute’s request for outside funding said the award would be restricted to applicants with “unique” resources and backgrounds — and specifically mentioned Dr. Mukamal, who had helped persuade the alcohol industry to fund the research.

Whether scientists studying alcohol should accept money from the industry has long been controversial. Many scientists and policymakers have publicly said that any engagement with the alcohol industry undermines the credibility of the research.

In 2016, a group representing hundreds of scientists and policymakers published a statement saying researchers should never accept direct or indirect industry funding, and that “any form of engagement with the alcohol industry may influence the independence, objectivity, integrity and credibility” of the research.

“We know that industry funding not only affects the results of studies but affects the questions that are asked, how the results are analyzed and what the answers are,” said Dr. Adriane Fugh-Berman, a professor of pharmacology at Georgetown University and director of Pharmed Out, a group that researches drug marketing.

If the health effects of moderate drinking are a priority for the N.I.H., she added, “they should fund it themselves.”