Back in 2016, bone researcher and physician Sophie Jamal was found to have manipulated data and submitted fabricated evidence to investigators, and then blamed a research assistant for the fabricated evidence. She was then banned from federal funding for life in Canada, and was asked to return the money given to her by the Canada Institute of Health Research. She was also stripped of her medical license in March 2018. But,...
Two years later, Jamal is back on the medical scene. According to The Toronto Sun, her medical license was reinstated after she presented evidence to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario showing that her misconduct was a direct result of her long-term mental health problems. She can now return to practicing as an endocrinologist, as long as she doesn’t conduct clinical research and continues therapy for her mental health problems.
Whether it’s fit for Jamal to return to treating patients is a matter for medical bodies and institutions in Canada to decide.
This may be one of the most disappointing things that happen in the scientific field.
...scientists guilty of research misconduct often get away with nothing more than a slap on the wrist — that is, if they’re even caught in the first place. A survey of more than 1,100 researchers at eight European universities published earlier this year found that a large amount of research misconduct goes unreported, with early-career researchers the least likely to blow the whistle.
But what can be done to prevent these kinds of misconduct? Dalmeet Singh Chawla suggests some measures to prevent this from happening. See his article over at Undark.
(Image Credit: jarmoluk/ Pixabay)