A former chemistry graduate student at the University of Pittsburgh fabricated data that reported the successful synthesis of a molecule with known antibiotic and antitumor properties, according to a report by the Office of Research Integrity (ORI) published yesterday (October 20).
The federal investigation found that Marija Manojlovic fabricated and falsified nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data that confirmed the final structure, as well as several intermediate forms during the synthesis of pleurotin—a molecule first isolated from a fungal species in the 1940s. The data was used in a poster presentation and in a manuscript to be submitted to the renowned chemistry journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition.
