Scientists falsified data, report alleges
TORONTO • The retraction of two scientific papers and a concern raised about a third have led to allegations of data falsification in a laboratory run by two Toronto researchers.
The scientists — Dr. Sylvia Asa, a pathologist, and her husband, Dr. Shereen Ezzat, an endocrinologist — have denied the findings of an internal review at the conglomeration of hospitals where they work, University Health Network (UHN).
That report said the two retracted papers contained data that had been manipulated and/or falsified. It said the third contained an image that was identical to one used in a different paper published in another journal, a scientific no-no.
Asa was head of pathology at UHN from 2000 until this spring, when she stepped aside. It has not been revealed if that move was a response to the internal investigation, the findings of which were submitted in April to the editors of the journal that published the three articles, the American Journal of Pathology.
Both Asa and Ezzat remain on staff at UHN. But it has been reported that work in their lab has been suspended.
The scientists, who study the genetics of breast cancer, are refusing to comment. But their lawyer, Brian Moher, confirmed he is seeking a judicial review of the investigation’s findings at Ontario’s divisional court. Moher said a preliminary court date has
The doctors disagree with the allegation
been set for Aug. 27.
“The doctors disagree with the allegation that they engaged in the falsification of data,” Moher said, adding the application is for “an impartial review.”
Questions about their work arose in September 2012 when a reader wrote to the journal to raise concerns about two papers published in 2010. In the notice of retraction, published in the journal’s August issue, editors said they approached Ezzat, the corresponding author, but the exchange “failed to resolve the matter.”
The journal then asked UHN to investigate. Dr. Christopher Paige, vice-president of research, and Dr. Charles Chan, vice-president of medical affairs and quality, conducted the investigation. In April, they informed the journal of their findings.
UHN will not release the report. But the retraction notice says Paige and Chan informed the journal that multiple figures in both studies contained manipulated and-or fabricated data.
The researchers agreed that the papers should be retracted, though they insisted the findings were valid and could be reproduced.
“On behalf of all of the other authors, we wish to state that we have collectively confirmed the validity and reproducibility of the findings reported in these articles. Nevertheless, we request that these papers be retracted,” Ezzat wrote.