A former research fellow at Harvard Medical School faked data and used images from another scientist without attribution in a published paper and two grant applications, according to findings from the U.S. Office of Research Integrity.
The researcher, Arunoday K. Bhan, was also the first author on "Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived platelets loaded with lapatinib effectively target HER2+ breast cancer metastasis to the brain", which appeared in Scientific Reports in October 2021. The paper was retracted in March 2024. The retraction note cited an investigation by City of Hope and detailed "discrepancies in the data" that match ORI’s findings.
According to the agency, Bhan received funding from a grant to Boston Children’s Hospital meant to support postdoctoral fellows in transfusion medicine and cellular therapies "enabling them to move on to leading positions in academia or industry". Bhan agreed to have his research supervised for four years, and not to serve in any advisory role for the U.S. Public Health Service, which includes peer review committees at the National Institutes of Health.
