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More publication fraud in stem cell area?

By Lawrence B. Ebert, Esq.

Xinhua reports of charges made by Lu Daopei against Huang Xiaojun:

Lu, who teaches at Peking University and Fudan University in Shanghai, displayed a certificate at a press conference in Beijing Thursday [7 May 09] showing that in 2006, he was recognized as the leader of a group that developed a new medical treatment protocol for preventing rejection of stem cell transplants in diseases such as leukemia.

Lu said he also found 20 errors in 31 papers written by Huang.

Despite Lu's objections, he said, Huang was still given the award.

Additionally:

Anti-fraud activist Fang Zhouzi, who runs a website on the issue from his Beijing home, said Huang's case showed that there were loopholes in the academic evaluation system in China.

"Someone reported the fraud, but the accused was still given an award before a thorough investigation. This is incorrect," he said.

See also earlier discussion on IPBiz of Fang Zhouzi.

**Meanwhile, at californiastemcellreport, a discussion of CIRM's lobbying firm-->

The federal lobbyist (Podesta)for the California stem cell agency is doing quite well financially so far this year, but the CIRM account represents only a tiny fraction of its business.

Perhaps the stemcellreport should note:

According to Lu, the reason why academic fraud was so prevalent was that scholars and researchers were chasing publicity and profits.

With his CMA award, "Huang could apply for more awards and research funding," he said.

**On the general theme of academic fraud, note the history of Symbionese Liberation Army member James Kilgore. Evading capture after the bank robbery which led to the death of Myrna Opsahl in 1975, Kilgore used the birth certificate of a dead infant to get a passport, and ended up as a professor in South Africa.

As an observation, Kilgore served 54 months for using a dead baby's birth certificate to obtain a passport and 72 months for his role in the murder. There's no report of time served for the academic fraud. But for his parole in Illinois, Kilgore might be a good colleague for Ward Churchill, who appreciates ghosting of identities.

See Last SLA inmate released from California prison

Full post as published by IPBiz on May 11, 2009 (boomark / email).