“We don’t want to be caught napping:” Meet Hindawi’s new head of research integrity

We spoke with Matt Hodgkinson about how he turned his “spidey sense” for what’s wrong with papers into a new position at Hindawi, one of the largest publishers of open-access journals.  Retraction Watch: As the new Head of Research Integrity at Hindawi, what does your position entail? What does your typical day look like?

Researcher who sued to stop retractions earns his 8th

Mario Saad, a diabetes researcher who once sued to stop a publisher from retracting his papers, has just received his eighth retraction. Critical Care has retracted a 2012 paper about treating sepsis, citing extensive similarities between figures within the paper and 10 others. Here’s the full notice for “Diacerhein attenuates the inflammatory response and improves … Continue reading Researcher who sued to stop retractions earns his 8th

7th retraction for Ohio researcher who manipulated dozens of figures

A pharmacology researcher at Ohio State University has added his seventh retraction, four years after a finding of misconduct by the U.S. Office of Integrity (ORI). An analysis of the work of Terry Elton determined that he had falsified and/or fabricated Western blots in eighteen (18) figures and in six (6) published papers.  In 2012, the ORI … Continue reading 7th retraction for Ohio researcher who manipulated dozens of figures

A researcher sued critics of his work. Now he has 13 retractions.

A cancer researcher who sued PubPeer commenters for criticizing his work has lost six more papers, bringing his total to 13 retractions.  Four of the new retraction notices issued by the journal Cancer cite an investigation at Wayne State University in Michigan into the work of Fazlul Sarkar and some of his colleagues. All the new notices, including the other two … Continue reading A researcher sued critics of his work. Now he has 13 retractions.

Harvard researcher’s PhD revoked, former group earns three more retractions

A research fellow at Harvard has lost his PhD from a university in Singapore after being found guilty of falsifying data, and his former group leader’s contract has been terminated by his institution. But that’s not the whole story. This tangled mess involves not only the Harvard researcher, Sudarsanareddy Lokireddy, and his former boss, Ravi Kambadur at … Continue reading Harvard researcher’s PhD revoked, former group earns three more retractions

Second retraction for researcher who faked 70+ experiments

Two researchers found to have faked data by the U.S. Office of Research Integrity (ORI) have lost a paper that they co-authored. According to the ORI report issued on May 25, Ricky Malhotra, one of the researchers in question, admitted to fabricating 74 experiments, and falsifying well over 100 Western blots while at the Universities of Michigan (UM) … Continue reading Second retraction for researcher who faked 70+ experiments

1st retraction for biologist who doctored 40+ images, received funding ban

The Journal of Biological Chemistry has retracted a paper that was one of eight flagged in a recent investigation by the Office of Research Integrity (ORI). The investigation — which concluded that a biologist had falsified or fabricated more than 40 images — resulted in a five-year funding ban.  In May, the ORI announced that John Pastorino, an erstwhile cell … Continue reading 1st retraction for biologist who doctored 40+ images, received funding ban

Fraudster’s colleague faked data, too

A week after announcing that a researcher formerly at the University of Chicago had faked the results of more than 70 experiments, the U.S. Office of Research Integrity announced yesterday that one of his colleagues also falsified data. According to the ORI, Karen D’Souza 

Heart researcher faked 70+ experiments, 100+ images

A former researcher at the University of Michigan and the University of Chicago faked dozens of experiments and images over the course of six years, according to a new finding from the Office of Research Integrity (ORI). Ricky Malhotra, who studied heart cells, admitted to committing misconduct at both institutions, the ORI said in its … Continue reading Heart researcher faked 70+ experiments, 100+ images

Researcher who unsuccessfully sued journal to stop retractions earns another expression of concern

A journal has added expressions of concern (EOCs) to four papers about diabetes, including one co-authored by an author who previously sued a different journal when it took a similar action on his papers. The Journal of Physiology flagged the papers after an investigation “could not rule out the possibility” that they contained duplicated Western blots. Though the … Continue reading Researcher who unsuccessfully sued journal to stop retractions earns another expression of concern