Post by cenydd on Oct 22, 2013 8:02:06 GMT
Research overseen by an eminent scientist at the University of New South Wales is again under investigation following concerns about alleged research misconduct.
The latest allegations centre on a scientific paper into the genetics of heart disease co-authored by Professor Levon Khachigian.
A research team overseen by Professor Khachigian has received many grants from bodies such as the National Health and Medical Research Council, including an $8.3 million grant for 2014 looking at cardiovascular disease research.
The research in question was published in the journal PLOS One in July 2012.
It focused on how muscle cells change into plaque - a key cause of heart attacks.
A scientist complained to the university, saying he believed one of the images appeared to have been manipulated.
A letter sent to the university's vice chancellor of research says "in figure 5, one of the panels has been duplicated, rotated 180 degrees and then used to represent cells treated with a different compound."
"If anomalies are found, it will be necessary to (conduct interviews) individually to determine who was responsible and whether they were deliberate or accidental," it says.
The university has conducted an initial investigation and the ABC understands it believes there is a prima facie case of research misconduct.
The latest allegations centre on a scientific paper into the genetics of heart disease co-authored by Professor Levon Khachigian.
A research team overseen by Professor Khachigian has received many grants from bodies such as the National Health and Medical Research Council, including an $8.3 million grant for 2014 looking at cardiovascular disease research.
The research in question was published in the journal PLOS One in July 2012.
It focused on how muscle cells change into plaque - a key cause of heart attacks.
A scientist complained to the university, saying he believed one of the images appeared to have been manipulated.
A letter sent to the university's vice chancellor of research says "in figure 5, one of the panels has been duplicated, rotated 180 degrees and then used to represent cells treated with a different compound."
"If anomalies are found, it will be necessary to (conduct interviews) individually to determine who was responsible and whether they were deliberate or accidental," it says.
The university has conducted an initial investigation and the ABC understands it believes there is a prima facie case of research misconduct.
www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-22/fresh-concerns-over-prof-levon-khacigian-research/5038644
Can there be anything worse for the world in the long term than falsified academic research? It hits at the very foundation of the search for knowledge.
