University’s story changes: It requested 33 retractions, not ‘several’

The University of Wyoming has requested that journals retract 33 papers by a former associate dean and “highly cited researcher” at the institution.

The news came just a week after we broke the story that heart researcher Jun Ren had been demoted following an earlier investigation. At the time, a university spokesperson told us that “Based on the findings of this examination, the university is recommending retraction of several publications due to concerns regarding data irregularities inconsistent with published conclusions.”

We described two of those retractions, along with two others that had been requested.

But in a July 22 story following up on our report, university spokesperson Chad Baldwin told the Cowboy State Daily that the school had requested the retraction of 33 papers. Baldwin confirmed that for us today:

Dr. Jun Ren departed the University of Wyoming in 2020. Between 2015 and 2021, the university investigated allegations of data irregularities made against Dr. Ren. The university has been following all applicable processes and procedures in reviewing the claims at issue. Following its review, the university requested retractions of 33 publications co-authored by Dr. Ren, most of which are in editorial review by publishers. Considering the ongoing review of the claims of data irregularities and applicable state and federal laws protecting Dr. Ren’s privacy, the university has not made public disclosures related to the said claims. The university takes any allegations of data irregularities seriously and has policies and training in place addressing research ethics that are available to students and faculty.

Asked if he could explain why the number had changed in the space of a week, Baldwin said: “I cannot.”

Ren, as we have reported, was a principal investigator on NIH grants totaling more than $22 million, according to the NIH RePORTER database.

Update, 0300 UTC, 7/26/22: Two more of Ren’s papers have been retracted. Both are papers in journals published by the American Heart Association, to whom Ren had written to object to the University of Wyoming’s request to retract, as we reported on July 15.

“Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1 Alleviates High-Fat Diet–Induced Myocardial Contractile Dysfunction: Role of Insulin Signaling and Mitochondrial Function,” first published in Hypertension in 2012, and “Transgenic Overexpression of Aldehyde Dehydrogenase-2 Rescues Chronic Alcohol Intake–Induced Myocardial Hypertrophy and Contractile Dysfunction,” first published in Circulation in 2009, were retracted on July 22, a week after our original post and a day after Wyoming newspapers began to pick up the story.

Here’s the notice for the Hypertension paper:

Following a recent institutional finding of research misconduct against Dr Jun Ren, the University of Wyoming examined other selected publications of Dr Ren under the direction of the HHS Office of Research Integrity and found evidence of data irregularities and image reuse in Figures 1, 5, 6, and 7 that significantly affect the results and conclu-sions reported in the manuscript. Specifically, the following irregularities were found:

1. In Figures 1H and 6A, the GAPDH for mito cytochrome C, GAPDH for cytosol cytochrome C, and insulin recep-tor β appear to be duplicated both within the article and from an article previously published by the author.

2. In Figure 5A, there is splicing evident in the PGC1α blot and areas indicating processing of UCP-2 blot, including apparent addition and/or removal of data from the blot images

3. In Figure 7, Akt bands of Figure 7A appear to be duplicated and reported as GAPDH in Figure 7B.

The editors are retracting this article based on the findings of the university investigation and in agreement with the University of Wyoming.

One of Ren’s co-authors on the Hypertension paper is Piero Anversa, a former Harvard researcher who had 31 articles slated for retraction by the university after a $10 million settlement with the U.S. government over misconduct allegations.

And here is the notice for the Circulation paper:

Following a recent examination by the University of Wyoming under the direction of the HHS Office of Research Integrity, the University of Wyoming found evidence of data irregularities and image reuse in Figures 1 and 6 that significantly affect the results and conclusions reported in the manuscript. Specifically, the following irregularities were found:

1. In Figure 1C, β-actin bands appear to be duplicated and used for controls for brain and heart samples.

2. In Figure 6, β-actin bands of Figure 6B appear to be duplicated and reported as GATA4 in Figure 6E.

The editors are retracting this article based on the findings of the university examination and in agreement with the University of Wyoming.

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