The University of Michigan is under increased scrutiny as a research fraud scandal continues to unfold, with yet another scientific journal retracting an article due to “unreliable” and duplicated data.
The research, which was partially federally funded, involved highly invasive experiments that induced seizures in mice. Their brains were later sliced into pieces.
The National Center for Biotechnology Information retracted the April 2013 article late last year after citing concerns “raised regarding the scientific validity.” Some of the information was “improbable” and “unreliable,” the journal stated in its retraction.
It’s just the latest publication to retract an article from University of Michigan researchers based on falsified, fabricated, or unreliable information in the past several years.
Stop Animal Exploitation Now! (SAEN), a group dedicated to forcing an end to animal use in laboratories, previously discovered five UM research publications that were retracted from health journals because of suspected fraud.
In the latest case, SAEN filed a complaint Tuesday with the Office of Research Integrity for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, pointing out that the research involved funding from the National Institutes of Health. A total of nearly $1 million was spent on research that yielded no useful information, the letter states.
“The mice in this project were injected with drugs that induced seizures, up to and including convulsions,” SAEN’s complaint states. “Then they were perfused with formaldehyde, and their brains were cut into slices. In other words, animals suffered horribly and died for nothing more than ‘unreliable’ data.”
The lead researcher, Hisashi Umemori, should be prosecuted “for both research fraud and animal abuse,” the complaint suggests.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Umemori still works at the university. Metro Times couldn’t immediately reach him for comment and is awaiting a response from the university.
The previous five retracted journal articles involved research by Dr. Chung Owyang, a gastroenterology researcher. In January 2023, UM said he no longer works at the university.
The latest retraction “has further damaged the reputation of the University of Michigan, which was previously compromised by Chung Owyang,” the complaint states. “We must begin to wonder how many other UM researchers are committing Research Misconduct at this very moment.”
Last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture cited the university for seven violations of the Animal Welfare Act. The violations ranged from a botched euthanasia on a rabbit to administering expired drugs to a calf.
University spokeswoman Kim Broekhuizen said UM takes all allegations of research misconduct seriously.
"The University of Michigan is committed to fostering and upholding the highest ethical standards in the conduct of research and scholarship," she said. "The U-M Office of the Vice President for Research employs a Research Integrity Officer responsible for addressing and assessing allegations of research misconduct. All allegations of research misconduct are thoroughly reviewed for appropriate next steps."
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