Stanford University president announces resignation over concerns about his research
SAN FRANCISCO — The president of Stanford University said Wednesday he would resign, citing an independent review that cleared him of research misconduct but found “serious flaws” in five scientific papers on subjects such as brain development in which he was the principal author.
Marc Tessier-Lavigne said in a statement to students and staff that he would step down Aug. 31.
The resignation comes after the board of trustees launched a review in December following allegations he engaged in fraud and other unethical conduct related to research and papers that are in some cases two decades old (1999, 2001, 2001)
Tessier-Lavigne, a neuroscientist, says he “never submitted a scientific paper without firmly believing that the data were correct and accurately presented.” But he says he should have been more diligent in seeking corrections regarding his work and he should have operated laboratories with tighter controls.
Panelists found multiple instances of manipulated data in the 12 papers they investigated, but concluded he was not responsible for the misconduct. Still, they found that each of the five papers in which he was principal author “has serious flaws in the presentation of research data” and in at least four of them, there was apparent manipulation of data by others.
Tessier-Lavigne said he was aware of issues with four of the five papers but acknowledged taking “insufficient” steps to deal with the issues. He said he’ll retract three of the papers and correct two.
The papers were published before Tessier-Lavigne became Stanford president.
Misconduct allegations about the work were first aired on PubPeer, a website where members of the scientific community can discuss research papers, the report stated. Questions resurfaced after The Stanford Daily, the university’s student-run newspaper, published several stories about the integrity of reports published by his laboratories.
