Nobel Laureate Accused of Research Misconduct [Reading Science]

Gregg Semenza, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2019
Allegations of Image Manipulation and Reuse in Papers Raised
17 Papers Retracted or Corrected, 32 Under Investigation
"Unrelated to Nobel Prize-Winning Research Results"

2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine co-recipient Greg Semenza, Professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine / Photo by Johns Hopkins University website.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] The 2019 Nobel Prize co-recipient in Physiology or Medicine has been embroiled in allegations of paper manipulation.

According to the international academic journal Nature on the 24th, multiple papers authored by Greg Semenza, a molecular biology professor at Johns Hopkins University in the United States, have recently faced allegations of image manipulation and other issues. As a result, some journals have already retracted, corrected, or expressed concerns regarding 17 papers he published over the past decade. Other journals are also investigating the integrity of images and data.

Professor Semenza researched the erythropoietin gene in the 1990s and uncovered the principle by which cells respond to oxygen concentration, opening new avenues for treating major diseases such as anemia and cancer. In 2019, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly with William Kaelin, a professor at Harvard Medical School, and Peter Ratcliffe, a professor at the University of Oxford.

However, on the research paper monitoring site PubPeer, suspicions regarding his papers have been raised continuously since 2011. Issues have been identified with images or data included in 52 research papers published from 2000 to last year, in which Semenza was a co-author. Consequently, 17 of Semenza’s papers have already been retracted, corrected, or flagged with concerns by academic journals. These journals announced that the authors manipulated or reused images showing experimental results or displayed incorrect information. Currently, a total of 32 papers where Semenza is the first or co-author are under investigation.

However, the papers recently questioned are known to be molecular biology studies published after he received the Nobel Prize. The core research achievement for which he was awarded?the principle of cellular response regulation according to oxygen concentration?is not being doubted. A scientist who requested anonymity told Nature, "We are waiting for the investigation results with a mixture of concern and interest."