Search Results for: michael foster

Feds ban ex-Duke lab tech from funding after she faked data linked to 60 NIH grants

Erin Potts-Kant, who lost her job as a researcher at Duke University in 2013 for embezzling more than $25,000 from the institution, has received a rare permanent Federal funding ban from the U.S. Office of Research Integrity (ORI) after investigators concluded that she had used fabricated data in nearly 120 figures.  The case has been … Continue reading Feds ban ex-Duke lab tech from funding after she faked data linked to 60 NIH grants

Duke settles case alleging data doctoring for $112.5 million

Retraction Watch readers may recall the name Erin Potts-Kant. We’ve been reporting on retractions by Potts-Kant, a former lab tech at Duke, since 2013. (The count is now 17.) Along the way, we learned that she had been convicted of embezzlement, but that there was a bigger story: There was a False Claims Act case … Continue reading Duke settles case alleging data doctoring for $112.5 million

Duke admits faked data “potentially affected” grant applications

A former researcher at Duke University has admitted to faking data that allegedly were used to secure hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grants. Duke has also admitted that it knew Erin Potts-Kant, a pulmonary scientist, faked data, but it’s unclear whether that was discovered prior to using those data to apply for grants, … Continue reading Duke admits faked data “potentially affected” grant applications

$200M research misconduct case against Duke moving forward, as judge denies motion to dismiss

A Federal U.S. court in North Carolina has denied a motion to dismiss a major lawsuit filed against Duke University and two former employees, allowing the case to go forward. Last year, the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Virginia unsealed a whistleblower lawsuit filed by another former employee at Duke against the … Continue reading $200M research misconduct case against Duke moving forward, as judge denies motion to dismiss

Former Duke researcher at center of lawsuit lodges 16th retraction

Two former researchers at Duke University at the center of a lawsuit by a whistleblower to recoup millions in federal funding have lost yet another paper. This is hardly the first retraction for Erin Potts-Kant, who used to work in the pulmonary lab of now-retired William Michael Foster. Earlier this year, a lawsuit filed by a … Continue reading Former Duke researcher at center of lawsuit lodges 16th retraction

Embezzlement, 15 retractions, and a whistleblower could add up to trouble for Duke

Retraction Watch readers may recall the case of Erin Potts-Kant, who pled guilty to embezzling funds from a lab, and now has 15 retractions, and Michael Foster, both formerly of Duke. You may also remember that we’ve featured discussions of the False Claims Act, which some attorneys are trying to use to expose wrongdoing — … Continue reading Embezzlement, 15 retractions, and a whistleblower could add up to trouble for Duke

Another paper by Duke pair with 12+ retractions is flagged

Another expression of concern (EOC) has appeared for a pair of lung researchers formerly employed by Duke University. Co-authors Erin Potts-Kant, a research assistant who left the school and was charged with embezzlement, and Michael Foster, who has retired, share more than a dozen retractions, corrections and EOCs. Like many of those papers, the American Journal of Respiratory … Continue reading Another paper by Duke pair with 12+ retractions is flagged

Duke researcher adds another retraction in JCI, bringing count to 15

We’ve found another retraction for Erin Potts-Kant, a former researcher at Duke, bringing her total to 15. Yesterday we reported on two new retractions for Potts-Kant in PLoS ONE, which earned her a spot in the top 30 on our leaderboard. As with the others, the latest paper, in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, is marred … Continue reading Duke researcher adds another retraction in JCI, bringing count to 15

Duke pulmonary researcher up to 14 retractions, putting her on our leaderboard

A pair of Duke researchers who each have more than 10 retractions have earned some more. Both of the newly retracted papers — originally published in 2012 by PLOS ONE — list Erin Potts-Kant as a co-author; one includes her former supervisor, Michael Foster, as lead author. The pair has since left Duke (Potts-Kant was arrested for using school credit … Continue reading Duke pulmonary researcher up to 14 retractions, putting her on our leaderboard

Five more notices for Duke pulmonary pair brings retraction tally into double digits

Two retractions and three corrections have appeared for a group of Duke researchers that already have 10+ retractions under their belts. The reasoning behind them echoes that which we’ve seen before in notices for Michael Foster and Erin Potts-Kant: Following an inquiry from the university, the journals were informed that some of the data or results weren’t reliable, and not all of the experiments could be … Continue reading Five more notices for Duke pulmonary pair brings retraction tally into double digits