Retractions have been published for four papers authored by former Wayne State University professor, Teresita L. Briones, after an April ORI report found evidence of misconduct in the articles.
Investigators found that Briones had “intentionally, knowingly, and recklessly engaged in research misconduct by falsifying and/or fabricating data.” They flagged five papers and three grant applications that contained false data.
As a result of their findings, four out of the five papers have been retracted, and the editors of the remaining journal say they are looking into the last paper.
One recent retraction was published in July by Neuroscience for a 2014 paper, “Decrease in age-related tau hyperphosphorylation and cognitive improvement following vitamin D supplementation are associated with modulation of brain energy metabolism and redox state.” The study found that vitamin D helped combat age-related brain changes in rats. It has been cited 6 times, according to Thomson Scientific’s Web of Knowledge.
Here’s more from the notice:
This article has been retracted at the request of the Editor-in-Chief following the publication of a notice by the Office of Research Integrity (ORI) on April 7, 2015 which states that Dr. Teresita L. Briones, first author on this article, engaged in research misconduct by falsifying and/or fabricating data that were presented in the article.
The journal’s editor-in-chief, Stephen Lisberger, said that he didn’t have any additional comments.
I have nothing to add. I believe that the Retraction Notice is self-explanatory.
The Journal of Neurotrauma retracted two studies in June.
Both articles — “Environmental Experience Modulates Ischemia-Induced Amyloidogenesis and Enhances Functional Recovery” and “Modulation of Ischemia-Induced NMDAR1 Activation by Environmental Enrichment Decreases Oxidative Damage” — examined the impact on rats’ environment in recovering from cerebral ischemic injuries.
Here’s the notice for both articles:
Journal of Neurotrauma has been notified by the Acting Director of the Office of Research Integrity (ORI) of two published articles in the Journal where the authors engaged in research misconduct by falsifying and/or fabricating data by falsly reporting the results of Western blot experiments that examined neuroinflammation amyloidogenesis, and/or cognitive impairment in a rat model of cerebral ischemia. Specifically, the authors duplicated, reused, and falsely relabeled Western blot gel images and claimed they represented different experiments in a number of published articles in the scientific literature.
Acting in compliance with ORI, and in the interest of upholding the strictest standards of scientific publishing, the editorial leadership of Journal of Neurotrauma agrees that the research misconduct is of such significance to warrant retraction of the following articles.
John Povlishock, the editor-in-chief, said that the journal was already looking into these studies when the ORI report announced its findings.
The Journal had been aware of potential irregularities in the manuscripts in question for over a year . We asked, in writing, for clarification of multiple issues. The corresponding author responded and denied any wrongdoing , although her arguments were not compelling. We were in the process of taking further action when the ORI report was released. Consistent with Journal custom and practice the 2 manuscripts in question have been retracted.
Povlishock said that they were tipped off about potential problems.
My office was alerted of her potential misconduct by a member of the scientific community not affiliated with Wayne State University.
Behavioural Brain Research retracted a 2014 paper co-authored by Briones, “Involvement of insulin-like growth factor-1 in chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment.”
The notice reads:
This article has been retracted at the request of the Editors-in-Chief following the publication of a notice by the Office of Research Integrity (ORI) on April 7, 2015 which states that Dr. Teresita L. Briones, first author on this article, engaged in research misconduct by falsifying and/or fabricating data that were presented in the article.
The full ORI notice may be viewed online at: https://federalregistergov/a/2015-07896 Publication Date: Tuesday, April 07, 2015 Document Citation: 80 FR 18638 Page: 18638 (1 page) Document Number: 2015-07896
The remaining paper, “Chronic neuroinflammation and cognitive impairment following transient global cerebral ischemia: role of fractalkine/CX3CR1 signaling,” was published in 2014 in the Journal of Neuroinflammation.
Robert Mrak and Sue Griffin, the journal’s co-editors-in-chief, both individually responded with the same sentence — that the journal is currently investigating.
I can confirm that we are looking into this.
As a condition of the ORI’s report, Briones has agreed to be banned from receiving federal grants and from serving on peer review committees for three years.
We’ve contacted Briones for a statement and we’ll update with any response.
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