WIKIMEDIA, HOFLIMultiple institutions are scrutinizing the work of Olivier Voinnet, a prominent RNA interference (RNAi) researcher at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zürich, according to Lab Times. The investigations come after numerous posts on the post-publication peer review site PubPeer called foul on dozens of papers authored by Voinnet and his colleagues.
ETH-Zürich confirmed to Lab Times that an investigation into the allegations of image manipulation was underway. The CNRS Institute for Plant Molecular Biology in Strasbourg, France, where Voinnet previously worked, also indicated that it was beginning an investigation into the researcher’s work. And Cyril Zipfel, head of the Sainsbury Laboratory in Norwich, UK, where Voinnet earned his PhD, wrote on PubPeer: “We are actively discussing with all other institutions concerned to define the best way forward to co-ordinate efforts to clarify how these irregularities occurred and to take appropriate measures.”
According to Lab Times, numerous coauthors of Voinnet said the figures in question were Voinnet’s responsibility. And in a comment posted to PubPeer yesterday (April 1), Vicky Vance, who studies RNA at the University of ...
