The University of Gothenburg has taken steps to remove Suchitra Sumitran-Holgersson from her post as a professor there, after an investigation concluded that she manipulated images in seven out of 10 papers.
“[T]he Vice-Chancellor decided that the professor was guilty of research misconduct by deliberately neglecting good scientific practice,” according to a press release from the university published June 26. All of Sumitran-Holgersson’s coauthors were cleared from responsibility for the tampered images. According to Retraction Watch, two of the papers have been retracted so far.
The conclusion by the university comes after an investigation by Sweden’s Central Ethical Review Board determined in March that eight of Sumitran-Holgersson’s papers were problematic.
See “Investigation Finds Signs of Misconduct in Swedish Researcher’s Papers”
In addition to figure manipulation, Sumitran-Holgersson was found previously to have violated medical ethics when she failed to get approval before she recruited three children for...
Regarding the University of Gothenburg’s report, Sumitran-Holgersson tells Retraction Watch: “My reaction to the verdict is that I take the full responsibility for a number of unfortunate errors, but that I unequivocally deny that any of these mistakes were willful or have improved the appearance of the papers in question.”
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