On Scientific Misconduct

I've mentioned Aubrey Blumsohn's Scientific Misconduct Blog here before.  Blumsohn is a both a scientist and perhaps a victim of misconduct at the same time.  This in itself is unusual because one tends to think of the scientist as the typical agent of the misconduct, at least in the ORI context.  Yet the problems arising from conflicts of interest can be anomalous, and the narratives of several researchers (Olivieri, Healy, among others) suggests that COIs can produce circumstances in which scientists can be victims of misconduct.

Over at Health Care Renewal, Roy Poses briefly recaps what happened to Blumsohn, and offers strong opinions on the subject, whose tenor I happen to agree with.  I am not particularly interested in meta discussions about the role of blogging in media and journalism, but I have often wondered myself why I perceive so little reaction to Blumsohn's story, especially with the frequently zealous protection of the rights and privileges surrounding tenure (witness the recent vibrant blogospheric discourse regarding the John Yoo situation).  In any case, at the very least, there seems ample justification for conducting an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Blumsohn's dismissal from the University of Sheffield.

Go read Poses's post.

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[Jargin SV]

Criticism of scientific misconduct in Russia: 10 years of experience
In 1998 we started regular criticism of scientific misconduct (falsification and plagiarism in professional publications) in Russia and the former Soviet Union. Violations of this kind were proven in the works of the functionaries, occupying high positions in scientific and educational hierarchy: the former minister of health E.M. Chazov (1,2), chancellor of Moscow I.M. Sechenov Medical Academy M.A. Paltsev, former head of the Russian section of International Academy of Pathology N.M. Anichkov (3,4) and others. A number of untrustworthy publications overestimating consequences of Chernobyl accident were criticized (5-7). We maintained the website Russian Pathology http://www.freewebs.com/ruspat1/, made presentations at international conferences, edited and distributed booklets. Some materials have been published (selected publications are listed below). In the meantime we recognized ineffectiveness of our criticism and faced reprisals. The following methods are applied to the whistleblowers disclosing and reporting cases of scientific misconduct: slander, stigmatization, dismissals under invented pretexts such as personnel reduction etc. Examples of menace and violence on the part of criminalized structures affiliated with the governing functionaries are known (8). Reprisals can involve family members of undesired persons; such cases are known as well.
Selected publications:
1. Jargin SV. Cell culture as a testing system for lipid-lowering substances. Abstracts of the 3rd Intercontinental Congress of Pathology (Barcelona, May 2008). Virchows Arch. 2008; 452 (Suppl 1): S34
2. Jargin SV. Testing of anti-atherogenic drugs on cell cultures. Abstracts on the XII Congress on Atherosclerosis. 12 December 2008, Spindleruv Mlyn, Czech Republik. Vnitrni Lekarstvi, 2008; 54(12): 1229
3. Jargin SV. Examples of plagiarism from the former Soviet Union. Dermatopathol: Pract & Conc 2008; 14(2): 19 Available at: http://derm101.com
4. Jargin SV. Scientific misconduct and International Co-operation. BMJ Rapid Responses; published online 18 November 2003: http://www.bmj.com/cgi/eletters/322/7281/274#40883
5. Jargin SV Over-estimation of radiation-induced malignancy after the Chernobyl accident. Virchows Arch 2007, 451(1): 105-106
6. Jargin SV. Chernobyl Hysteria and High Energy Prices. BMJ Rapid Responses; published online (8 October 2008): http://www.bmj.com/cgi/eletters/309/6948/208#202902
7. Jargin SV. Thyroid cancer incidence after the Chernobyl accident: possible causes of overestimation (in Czech language). Abstracts of the conference: V. ročník sympózia o radiační onkologii. 4 October, 2008, Nový Jičín, Czech Republic. Available at: http://www.radioterapie.cz/downloads/kongresy-seminare/2008/16_jargin-abstract-cz.pdf
8. Pigaleva E.E. Scientific Misconduct. Dermatopathol: Pract & Conc 2007; 13(3): 20 Available at: http://derm101.com