Top Spider Biologist’s Research Under Fire

After the initial announcements of two retractions, scientists have mobilized to interrogate the data in nearly 150 of Jonathan Pruitt’s papers.

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Update (July 13, 2022): McMaster University and Jonathan Pruitt have reached a settlement, and Pruitt is no longer employed there as of July 10, Science reports. The university has yet to release the results of its investigation into Pruitt’s work.

Update (November 16, 2021): Science reports that McMaster University has completed its investigation of Pruitt and placed him on paid leave, although the university did not specify the results of its investigation.

Update (November 12, 2021): The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, appears to have withdrawn Jonathan Pruitt’s doctoral dissertation, Retraction Watch reports.

Jonathan Pruitt, a McMaster University behavioral ecologist and Canada 150 Research Chair holder whose work looks at behavioral patterns and personality types in social spiders, faces growing scrutiny after alleged data fraud in a number of his publications. To date, seven of Pruitt’s papers have been retracted or are in the process of being retracted, according to a ...

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Meet the Author

  • Amy Schleunes

    A former intern at The Scientist, Amy studied neurobiology at Cornell University and later earned her MFA in creative writing from the University of Iowa. She is a Los Angeles–based writer, editor, and communications strategist who collaborates on nonfiction books for Harper Collins and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and also teaches writing at Johns Hopkins University CTY. Her favorite projects involve sharing the insights of science and medicine.

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