Fired postdoc faked recommendation letters from supervisor, OSU alleges

A major research institution has accused a former postdoc of forging letters of recommendation from a supervisor, according to a court complaint.  Georgios Laliotis was terminated by The Ohio State University on Nov. 30, 2021, according to the complaint filed in Franklin County Municipal Court, which we’ve made available here. Earlier that month, his PI, … Continue reading Fired postdoc faked recommendation letters from supervisor, OSU alleges

Weekend reads: Fake reproductive health data alleged; ‘bad brains;’ ‘heinous’ misconduct

Would you consider a donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured: Physics publisher retracting nearly 500 likely paper mill papers Exclusive: NIH researcher resigned amid retractions, including Nature paper Didier Raoult papers earn expressions of concern as criminal investigation gets underway Brain tumor researchers retract paper … Continue reading Weekend reads: Fake reproductive health data alleged; ‘bad brains;’ ‘heinous’ misconduct

Former NCI postdoc faked data, says federal watchdog

A former postdoc at the National Cancer Institute faked 15 figures and a movie in grant applications, presentations, a paper, and an unpublished manuscript, according to a federal watchdog. The finding from the U.S. Office of Research Integrity (ORI) comes more than a year after PLOS Biology retracted a 2016 paper and noted that the … Continue reading Former NCI postdoc faked data, says federal watchdog

‘A significant departure’: Former Kentucky researcher faked 28 figures in grant applications and papers, say Feds

A former researcher at the University of Kentucky committed misconduct in both published papers and grant applications, according to a federal watchdog. The finding from the Office of Research Integrity (ORI) comes two years after the University of Kentucky announced that it had concluded that the scientist, Stuart Jarrett, had committed misconduct on four papers … Continue reading ‘A significant departure’: Former Kentucky researcher faked 28 figures in grant applications and papers, say Feds

UCLA veteran researcher faked data in 11 grant applications, per Feds

A 10-year veteran of the University of California, Los Angeles “engaged in research misconduct by knowingly and recklessly” faking data in 11 different grant applications, according to a U.S. federal watchdog. [Please see an update on this post; UCLA now says one of the 11 grant applications did not include faked data.] Janina Jiang, who … Continue reading UCLA veteran researcher faked data in 11 grant applications, per Feds

University of Fukui professor called out for fake peer review, loses “love hormone” paper

A researcher in Japan appears to have written laudatory comments about her articles that a colleague passed off as his own during peer review. This may have happened for as many as five papers, two of which have been retracted. Akemi Tomoda, of the Child Development Research Center at the University of Fukui, collaborated with … Continue reading University of Fukui professor called out for fake peer review, loses “love hormone” paper

Weekend reads: Harvard sued over retracted paper; ‘retraction with honor’; critiquing our fake peer review coverage

Would you consider a donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured: Papers in Scientific Reports – and their expressions of concern – raise questions 250th COVID-19 retraction is for faked ethics approval Papers in Croce case with “blatantly obvious” problems still aren’t retracted after misconduct investigation: … Continue reading Weekend reads: Harvard sued over retracted paper; ‘retraction with honor’; critiquing our fake peer review coverage

250th COVID-19 retraction is for faked ethics approval

Researchers in Iran have lost a paper on Covid-19 infection in a two-month-old boy after the journal learned that they’d fabricated ethics approval for the article.  It’s the 250th Covid-19 retraction by our count. “Coronavirus disease 2019 in a 2-month-old male infant: a case report from Iran” appeared in December 2020 in Clinical and Experimental … Continue reading 250th COVID-19 retraction is for faked ethics approval

Weekend reads: Female driver stereotypes; ‘stealth research’; AI comes to fake scientific images

Would you consider a donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured: Journal about ‘ambient intelligence’ retracts more than 50 papers at once The “internet may be a challenging venue”: Biomedical engineering group up to four retractions Drug researchers in Russia have four papers subjected to expressions … Continue reading Weekend reads: Female driver stereotypes; ‘stealth research’; AI comes to fake scientific images

Cancer researcher faked data for 24 images in work funded by nine NIH grants: Federal watchdog

A cancer researcher faked data in a grant application, her PhD thesis, and seven published papers, according to the U.S. Office of Research Integrity. Toni Brand, who earned her PhD from the University of Wisconsin and served as a postdoc at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), “engaged in research misconduct by knowingly or … Continue reading Cancer researcher faked data for 24 images in work funded by nine NIH grants: Federal watchdog