Marc Tessier-Lavigne, the president of Stanford University, has resigned after an investigation revealed serious flaws in several research papers he supervised.
Stanford had previously announced an investigation into Tessier-Lavigne – described by the school as a “world leader in the study of brain development and repair” – over allegations of scientific misconduct.
After months of investigation, Tessier-Lavigne will step down as president effective Aug. 31, the university reports.
Posts on an online forum had challenged the authenticity of multiple images published in newspapers co-written by Tessier-Lavigne, who assumed the position of president in 2016.
However, a panel of experts concluded that Tessier-Lavigne did not engage in fraud and found no evidence that he was aware of the issues prior to publication.
He remains at the university as a biology professor after stepping down as president.
Stanford president Marc Tessier-Lavigne has resigned after an investigation into allegations that documents he co-authored contained falsified data and images
Initially, a Stanford spokesperson refuted the California school paper’s story
The review portrays a scientist who co-authored papers with “serious flaws” and failed on multiple occasions to “resolutely and candidly correct errors” when concerns were raised.
Tessier-Lavigne said today he would ask that three papers be withdrawn and two corrected.
A panel of leading scientists appointed by a special committee of the private university’s board of trustees examined a dozen of the more than 200 papers published during his career.
Jerry Yang, chairman of the Stanford Board of Trustees, said Tessier-Lavigne will step down “in light of the report and its impact on his ability to lead Stanford.”
In a statement, he said, “The board has decided to accept the resignation of President Tessier-Lavigne and agrees that it is in the best interest of the university.
‘He will stay on as a permanent professor at the Department of Biology.’
Former Dean of Humanities Richard Saller will become interim chairman, the board announced.
In a statement, Tessier-Lavigne said: “The panel did not find that I engaged in research misconduct with respect to the twelve articles reviewed, nor did it determine that I had knowledge of or recklessness with respect to research misconduct. in my lab.
“As I have pointed out, I have never submitted a scientific article without a firm belief that the data was presented correctly and accurately. Today’s report supports that claim.
“While the report clearly refutes the allegations of fraud and misconduct against me, it is for the good of the university that I have made the decision to resign as president effective August 31.”
He continued, “I should have been more diligent in seeking corrections.
‘The Panel’s review also revealed cases of manipulation of research data by others in my lab.
“While I was not aware of these issues, I want to make it clear that I take responsibility for the work of my lab members.”
Tessier-Lavigne had a lucrative tenure at the school, adding $12.1 billion to the endowment and undoing an unpopular plan to assassinate the 11 sports teams
The latest update comes after posts on an online forum challenged the authenticity of articles co-written by Tessier-Lavigne.
The messages were then reported Tuesday by the Stanford Daily, the college newspaper, along with several other allegations of suspected manipulation in Tessier-Lavigne’s work.
Tessier-Lavigne, described by Stanford as a “world leader in the study of brain development and repair,” has enjoyed a lucrative tenure at the school, adding $12.1 billion to the endowment and an unpopular plan to turn the 11 sports teams deletion undone.
After the allegations were made, the leading publisher of scientific research, the European Microbiology Organization Journal, said it would also investigate the staffer. ‘investigating’ discrepancies in a research article he wrote in 2018.
Initially, a Stanford spokesperson refuted the school paper’s story, claiming that Tessier-Lavigne was “in no way involved in generating or presenting the surveyed panels.”
A leading biologist familiar with Tessier-Lavigne’s work came out to say that several scientific papers written by the president ‘many visible errors’ and content ‘suggests (of) intent to deceive’.
Elisabeth Bik, a nationally recognized expert on image analysis and research integrity, told the East Bay Times after analyzing the paper that “one can’t really say that all the issues we found point to misconduct.”
Elisabeth Bik, a leading biologist familiar with Tessier-Lavigne’s work, has since revealed that several scientific papers written by the president contain “many obvious errors” and content “suggestive (of) an intent to deceive.”
Bik told the Daily Tuesday that she “disagrees with (the) statement that these issues have no impact on the data or the results.” The school would retract that statement and open its own investigation later that day
A panel of leading scientists appointed by a special committee of the private university’s board of trustees examined a dozen of the more than 200 papers published during his career
She added: “But there are definitely some issues – and they are real”
Experts who reviewed Tessier-Lavigne’s research at the request of The Daily agreed with Bik’s analysis, pointing out that three articles in leading research journals Science and Nature also contained “serious problems.”
Scientific misconduct investigators who reviewed the papers, The Daily claimed, contained images that had been “photoshopped,” as well as manipulated data.
Born in Ontario, Canada, Tessier-Lavigne spent his early career researching degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s before moving into more administrative roles
Prior to Stanford, he was president of Rockefeller University in New York City.
The disputed research was conducted prior to his 2016 recruitment from New York to Stanford, with most of it focusing on the study of the development of neural connections in the brain.