Hwang Woo Suk was a very successful and well known biomedical scientist who was dismissed in 2006 from Seoul National University in South Korea after

Transcription

1 Hwang Woo Suk was a very successful and well known biomedical scientist who was dismissed in 2006 from Seoul National University in South Korea after falsely reporting to have succeeded in producing human embryonic stem cells by cloning, in which two misleading articles were published in the journal Science. 1

2 Woo Suk matriculated at Seoul National University where he became a veterinarian in his early career. After earning his doctorate, he briefly practiced veterinary medicine, before moving into the field of biomedical research, where he became a full time researcher. 2

3 Woo Suk gained media attention after announcing that he successfully created a cloned cow (Yeongrongi) in 1999 Two months later, he reported to have cloned a Korean cow (Jin i) Woo Suk s great accomplishments were recognized by the Korean media and community, which gained him his heroic title and strong supporters. 3

4 In February 2004, Woo Suk and his colleagues fraudulently announced, in a published article in Science, that they have cloned 30 human embryos and collected stem cells from one of them. This was considered a breakthrough in biology as well as a great scientific and technological advancement in East Asia. In May 2005, Woo Suk s lab published another paper, in Science, falsely reporting to have established 11 embryonic stem cell lines derived from the skin cells of individual patients Dr. Gerald Schatten of the University of Pittsburgh co authored both papers in which he had not thoroughly reviewed. 4

5 His rise in fame gained him and his colleagues: International support Well funded Laboratories Received over $40 million in research funds Legislation authorizing human embryos to be cloned for research 5

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7 February 12, 04 Land mark paper, on cloning embryos and harvesting stem cells from them May, 04 Question about the source of stem cells arise along with the possibility of broken bioethics laws in respect to egg donations All calms down May 19, 05 Hwang s team announces creation of 11 embryonic stem cell lines 7

8 November, 05 Investigation resurfaces Gerald Schatten alerts that researcher Sun Il Roh has illegally traded ova to which Roh later admits December, 05 Univ. of Pittsburgh and Univ. of Seoul open investigation into 2004 and 2005 papers Hwang and Shatten asks for retraction of the paper Initially 9 of 11 and later all stem cell line turn to be fake 8

9 January February, 06 Univ. of Seoul states that Hwang's 2004 and 2005 papers are based on fraudulent data Instead of 400 eggs, 2,221 were used in his research (Korea's National Bioethics Committee ) Schatten is cleared of scientific misconduct by the University of Pittsburgh 9

10 May, 06 Hwang charged with: embezzling $3 million, committing fraud by knowingly using fabricated data to apply for research funds, violating a bioethics law that outlaws the purchase of eggs for research October, 06 Hwang takes the stand in court 10

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12 Egg Donation (Declaration of Helsinki) Falsified Data Embezzlement and Misappropriation of Funding Dr. Schatten Co authoring papers without verification of results 12

13 Egg Donation An investigative news program uncovered the facts behind the egg scandal Hwang had distributed consent forms to the egg donors, and had driven one woman to the procedure He originally claimed to have no knowledge of the offense The program had its sponsors withdraw initially because of its unpatriotic theme Falsified Data Seoul National University led an investigation with a panel of scientists who discovered forgery of all 11 cloned stem cell lines (Used DNA Fingerprinting) 13

14 Embezzlement of Funds Multiple bank accounts in which government funding was present Financed a car for his wife with funds Co Authorship Woo Suk s 2004 paper was first rejected, and Schatten fought to get it published even though he had not verified data (wanted senior co author status) Schatten succeeded in publishing the fraudulent paper 14

15 Woo Suk had become a national hero, which placed immense pressure on his lab Obtained a certain rock star status that made him feel that he could not be touched His experiments were difficult to replicate (Very costly) and therefore were tough to verify 15

16 Consequences and Outcomes 16

17 Woo Suk is guilty of unlawfully obtaining eggs from his co workers However, for the other crimes, Woo Suk holds a story that would liberate him: Spent part of research funds in attempts to clone extinct Russian mammoths and Korean tigers Conspiracy against him Team members supplied him with false data Projects had been sabotaged and materials were stolen 17

18 South Korean Government People of South Korea Female coworkers coerced into giving their eggs Thousands of Koreans rallied behind Hwang after the egg fiasco Many sick and elderly got their hopes up for stem cell treatment Scientific community 18

19 Scientific papers Many papers based on Woo Suk s false research Journal Review Tarnished the reputations of many journal editors Embryonic stem cell research becomes under scrutiny People doubt the possibility of obtaining stem cells from embryos 19

20 Discredited for finding method of obtaining stem cells from embryos Dismissed from Seoul National University Indicted on charges of Fraud, Embezzlement, and Breach of South Korea s Bioethics Law Title of Supreme Scientist was revoked Government revoked financial/legal support Forced to continue research outside of South Korea 20

21 Fired from position as Professor University endowed Woo suk with funding, power, and honor. Woo suk embarrassed his university and disgraced his coworkers. Forced out of South Korea Government lent him large sums of money. Woo suk was not exiled; he was barred from research. By leaving, Woo suk was able to avoid many angry countrymen. No Physical Detention Stripped of dignity Eggs, scientific fraud, lied to public embezzlement 21

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23 Concerns about Egg Procurement Proper documentation of Informed Consent along with Journal submissions Summery or informed consent process Institutional Review Board approval forms HFEA (Human Fertility and Embryology Authority) Recommendations Independent counseling before donating Only permitted to donate to research groups unaffiliated with friends and family Embezzlement of Government Funds Spending oversight committee Nicholas Wade: It May Look Authentic; Here s How to Tell It Isn t. New York Times. Jan 24th,

24 Falsifying Data Adoption of a test to detect photo manipulation by journal editors (The Journal of Cell Biology) 25% of accepted manuscripts violate journal guidelines. 1% (14 papers) found fraudulent Developing algorithms to spot image manipulation (Hani Farid, Dartmouth) Full time reviewers Post on server for public feedback prior to publication E prints on arxiv.org (Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science and Quantitative Biology) 24

25 Emphasizes Importance of the Review Process Reduces likelihood of plagiarism Highlights Co Authorship Responsibilities Dr. Gerald Schatten backing Woo Suk s work Evidence that Peer Scrutiny Works Scientific community unveiled irregularities in Hwang s reports 25

26 Nicholas Wade: It May Look Authentic; Here s How to Tell It Isn t. New York Times. Jan 24th, 2006 Philippa Brice: HFEZ favours altruistic egg donation for cloning research. PHG Foundation News. Feb 16, 2006 Timeline of Controversy: A chronology of Woo Suk Hwang's stem cell research, Nature Magazine. Dec 2005 Present 26

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