The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, one of the top cancer treatment and research facilities, is moving to retract six studies and correct dozens of published papers–with some being leading research papers in the field–following allegations of data manipulation.
In a blog posted earlier this month, British scientist and blogger Sholto David discussed how the notable institute’s top executives and researchers were involved in the said falsified studies by manipulating data and images.
Dr. David discovered that images in over 50 publications had been purposefully twisted, concealed, or spliced together to appear that the papers intended to mislead readers. Four of the papers flagged were authored by Dana-Farber’s chief executive, Dr. Laurie Glimcher.
In an interview with CNN, Barrett Rollins, the research integrity officer and chief science officer emeritus of Dana-Farber, stated that the organization is dedicated to fostering a culture that promotes accountability and integrity. To verify the validity of the scientific literature, every investigation is therefore thoroughly reviewed. “Dana-Farber has been swift and decisive in this regard,” he added.
To date, retractions have been initiated for six papers, 31 have been found to require revisions, and one more manuscript with a claimed error is still being investigated.
Dana-Farber has not yet concluded if scientific misconduct was committed in the publications under review, which reported on experiments on immune cells, multiple myeloma, and blood cancer.
On the other hand, Dr. David, who holds a doctorate in cellular and molecular biology from Newcastle University, told the Times that he often reviews other people’s research and that he just happened to come across some discrepancies in certain Dana-Farber scientists’ work. At that time, he went to the institute’s website and started reading the publications written by those researchers.
He said that before personally verifying the issues, he used AI tools to identify them and later discovered other problems on his own.
Dr. David also expressed his worries with the whole investigation process since Dr. Rollins is the author of some articles that were flagged, and conflicts of interest can hinder internal investigations of data anomalies.
Subsequently, the institute declared that Dr. Rollins would not be allowed to participate in any inquiry that involved his study.
Moreover, a committee of trustees will make the final verdict on any findings regarding the case of Dr. Glimcher.
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