MD Anderson’s Bharat Aggarwal inquiry still ongoing; center uninvolved in legal threats

When we learned earlier this week that Bharat Aggarwal, the MD Anderson researcher under investigation there for possible misconduct, had directed his attorneys to send us a pull-all-your-posts-about-our-client-or-we’ll-sue-you letter, we wondered if he’d included the Houston institution in that decision. Turns out he’d been acting on his own.

MD Anderson’s Bharat Aggarwal threatens to sue Retraction Watch

Bharat Aggarwal, an MD Anderson researcher under investigation by his institution, has threatened to sue us. Today, we received a letter from the Houston firm of Paranjpe & Mahadass LLP telling us to pull every post related to their client off our site within 20 days, or they’d “file a lawsuit against” us on his … Continue reading MD Anderson’s Bharat Aggarwal threatens to sue Retraction Watch

Correction for MD Anderson’s Bharat Aggarwal arches eyebrows for the right reasons

We’ve written about mega-corrections that allow scientists to retrace virtually all of their steps yet preserve their publications as supposedly legitimate. And we’ve seen plenty of corrections that allow authors to assert that their conclusions are correct when evidently important pieces of data are themselves unreliable. Now comes a correction that seems to us to … Continue reading Correction for MD Anderson’s Bharat Aggarwal arches eyebrows for the right reasons

MD Anderson investigating researcher Bharat Aggarwal over images

Bharat Aggarwal, an influential MD Anderson researcher who has been accused in the blogosphere of manipulating images in a slew of published studies, acknowledged to Retraction Watch that the Houston institution is investigating the matter. Reached by Retraction Watch by phone at his office, Aggarwal said MD Anderson has been looking into it and I … Continue reading MD Anderson investigating researcher Bharat Aggarwal over images

MD Anderson researcher Aggarwal up to six corrections

A highly cited cancer researcher at MD Anderson has notched three major corrections, all associated with problems in figures. One note cites “human error” as the cause. Bharat Aggarwal is the last author on all three papers. He is now up to six corrections, two unexplained withdrawals, and two Expressions of Concern. He’s also threatened to sue us in the past, … Continue reading MD Anderson researcher Aggarwal up to six corrections

Two Expressions of Concern in Blood for MD Anderson’s Aggarwal, who has threatened to sue Retraction Watch

Bharat Aggarwal, the MD Anderson researcher who has threatened to sue us while under investigation by his institution for alleged misconduct, now has two Expressions of Concern in addition to two corrections and two unexplained withdrawals. Both of the papers were published in Blood. The Expression of Concern for “Gambogic acid, a novel ligand for … Continue reading Two Expressions of Concern in Blood for MD Anderson’s Aggarwal, who has threatened to sue Retraction Watch

Correction for MD Anderson’s Aggarwal, cancer researcher whose work is under investigation

Bharat Aggarwal, the highly cited MD Anderson Cancer Center researcher who has confirmed to us that his work is under investigation by the institution, has a correction of his work in the Journal of Molecular Medicine. Troubled images are to blame — as they have been in previous retractions, and at least one other correction, … Continue reading Correction for MD Anderson’s Aggarwal, cancer researcher whose work is under investigation

Another withdrawal by MD Anderson’s Aggarwal, again for unclear reasons

Bharat B. Aggarwal, the MD Anderson researcher under investigation at his institution over concerns of image manipulation, has withdrawn a second paper, although you’d never know why from the statement. The notice for the article, “Evidence for the critical roles of NF-κB p65 and specificity proteins in the apoptosis-inducing activity of proteasome inhibitors in leukemia … Continue reading Another withdrawal by MD Anderson’s Aggarwal, again for unclear reasons

MD Anderson researcher Aggarwal loses paper in Cancer Letters

Whether it’s a one-off or a sign of things to come, Bharat Aggarwal, the MD Anderson scientist at the center of a blogospheric storm—and an institutional investigation—over the validity of his data, has had a paper withdrawn by the journal Cancer Letters.

Frankincense extract paper is 30th retracted by former MD Anderson researcher who once threatened to sue Retraction Watch

A cancer researcher in Texas who once threatened to sue Retraction Watch is up to 30 retractions, the latest involving a 2011 article which earned a correction the following year.  The paper, “Boswellic Acid Suppresses Growth and Metastasis of Human Pancreatic Tumors in an Orthotopic Nude Mouse Model through Modulation of Multiple Targets,” came from … Continue reading Frankincense extract paper is 30th retracted by former MD Anderson researcher who once threatened to sue Retraction Watch