PIXABAY, DELPHINMEDIAA cancer researcher formerly found by a Wayne State University investigative committee to have engaged in research misconduct has racked up his 19th paper retraction, Retraction Watch reports. The retired pathologist, Fazlul Sarkar, had gained notoriety both for the investigation’s results and for his unsuccessful 2016 lawsuit against PubPeer, which sought to force the online discussion site to reveal the identity of commenters who alleged misconduct on his part.
The new retraction, dated December 22, is of a 2012 study in Cancer Letters titled “Increased Ras GTPase activity is regulated by miRNAs that can be attenuated by CDF treatment in pancreatic cancer cells.” The retraction notice explains that the Wayne State investigation found a discrepancy between the originally collected data and those reported in two of the paper’s figures.
The 2015 Wayne State report recommended that 42 of Sarkar’s papers be retracted—of those, more than half remain intact, Retraction Watch notes.
