New findings of altered images in research co-authored by Stanford University president Marc Tessier-Lavigne add to the weight of allegations against him, according to experts on research misconduct. Stanford announced an investigation into its president following allegations of altered images in four papers co-authored by Tessier-Lavigne over a seven-year period earlier in his research career. A subsequent analysis by Elisabeth Bik, a scientific integrity expert who specializes in identifying manipulated images, found an additional image that raises concern in a paper published in the journal Cell in 1999, two years earlier than the set of papers originally flagged to Stanford.

Tessier-Lavigne was a senior author, but not the lead author, on the Cell paper. The finding nonetheless points to a pattern of image manipulation on studies that Tessier-Lavigne has worked on across institutions.

Stanford’s investigation was announced following a report in the Stanford Daily that was the first to reveal the misconduct claims. The student paper also reported that the University’s investigation could include the fifth Cell paper. The newly identified apparent manipulation in Cell is especially serious as it seems to alter the results and appears to be intentional, said Bik. “I would testify in court that’s been digitally altered. This actually changes everything. … It’s a more severe level of digital altering.”1

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References

  • Goldhill, O., & Molteni, M. (2022, December 2). ‘This actually changes everything’: Altered image in 1999 paper raises potential peril for Stanford president. STAT. https://www.statnews.com/2022/11/30/stanford-president-altered-images/

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