After an expansive investigation found manipulated data and other issues with papers co-authored by Stanford’s now ex-president Marc Tessier-Lavigne, the prominent neuroscientist on Thursday retracted two studies published in the journal Science in 2001 — over the objection of a former postdoctoral researcher who played a leading role in both projects.
The retractions come the same day that Tessier-Lavigne’s resignation as Stanford president takes effect. His departure was prompted by a 95-page report released by a special committee of the university’s Board of Trustees, which recruited outside scientists and a former federal judge to investigate a dozen papers Tessier-Lavigne co-authored between 1999 and 2009, years before becoming the university’s leader.
The panel concluded that he did not personally engage in scientific misconduct, but it uncovered manipulated data in some studies Tessier-Lavigne had supervised and found that he took insufficient steps to “decisively and forthrightly” correct these studies.