\n<\/p>\n
The Harvard University-linked Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston is looking to pull dozens of papers authored by its leading researchers after allegations of data falsification.<\/p>\n
Data investigator Sholto David first shared<\/a> the allegations in a blog post on January 2. <\/p>\n The Harvard Crimson confirmed<\/a> on January 22 that the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute \u201cinitiated retractions or corrections to 37 papers authored by four senior researchers following allegations of data falsification.\u201d<\/p>\n One other paper is still under investigation.<\/p>\n Authors who have allegedly falsified data include DFCI President and CEO Laurie Glimcher, Executive Vice President and COO William Hahn, Senior Vice President for Experimental Medicine Irene Ghobrial, and Harvard Medical School professor Kenneth Anderson.<\/p>\n Although false data is present, DFCI Research Integrity Officer Barrett J. Rollins explained that the \u201cpresence of image discrepancies in a paper is not evidence of an author\u2019s intent to deceive.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat conclusion can only be drawn after a careful, fact-based examination which is an integral part of our response,\u201d he said. \u201cOur experience is that errors are often unintentional and do not rise to the level of misconduct.\u201d<\/p>\n Last month, conservative activists and journalists Christopher Rufo and Chris Brunet alleged<\/a> that Harvard University President Claudine Gay plagiarized portions of her Ph.D. dissertation.<\/p>\n Rufo and Brunet reported that Gay\u2019s 1977 dissertation, \u201cTaking Charge: Black Electoral Success and the Redefinition of American Policies,\u201d contains \u201can entire paragraph nearly verbatim from a paper by Lawrence Bobo and Franklin Gilliam.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGay repeats this violation of Harvard\u2019s policy throughout the document, again using work from Bobo and Gilliam, as well as passages from Richard Shingles, Susan Howell, and Deborah Fagan, which she reproduces nearly verbatim, without quotation marks,\u201d Rufo added.<\/p>\n Gay later resigned<\/a> following allegations of plagiarism and failing to condemn antisemitism, although she remains<\/a> with the university as a professor.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is with a heavy heart but a deep love for Harvard that I write to share that I will be stepping down as president. This is not a decision I came to easily,\u201d she wrote in a\u00a0letter<\/a>\u00a0to the Harvard community.<\/p>\n \u201cIndeed, it has been difficult beyond words because I have looked forward to working with so many of you to advance the commitment to academic excellence that has propelled this great university across centuries,\u201d the letter continued. \u201cBut, after consultation with members of the Corporation, it has become clear that it is in the best interests of Harvard for me to resign so that our community can navigate this moment of extraordinary challenge with a focus on the institution rather than any individual.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n