Stanford University President Marc Tessier-Lavigne sent tremors through academia when he announced his resignation on July 19, 2023, following concerns about his research via NBC Bay Area reported. Although the independent review cleared him of research misconduct, it revealed "serious flaws" in five scientific papers published between 1999-2009 that he authored or co-authored.
Tessier-Lavigne acknowledged his responsibility for the mishaps within these papers, stating he will be retracting three and correcting the other two, and acknowledging that he could have been more diligent in seeking appropriate corrections before submitting, as reported by ABC7. He also admitted he should have been more strict with lab controls. The president, a neuroscientist by profession, emphasized that he never submitted a paper "without firmly believing that the data were correct and accurately presented".
Waves of concern about his research had been slowly building over time among the Stanford community via SFist, with some ex-Genentech scientists even alleging that one of Tessier-Lavigne's 2009 studies on Alzheimer's disease in the renowned journal Nature contained falsified data. Although these claims have not been proven, it is noteworthy that this study has never been replicated, and Genentech went on trying to develop drugs based on the work until 2012.
The findings of the review panel brought some mixed results: while they did not accuse Tessier-Lavigne of fraud or misconduct, they did find multiple instances of manipulated data in 12 papers scrutinized, and concluded that each of the five papers authored by him had serious flaws. These flaws were primarily present in data presentation, and at least four of the papers had apparent manipulation of data by others. Tessier-Lavigne mentioned that he was aware of the issues with four of these five papers, but had taken insufficient steps to address them.
Student journalism played an important role in highlighting the concerns about Tessier-Lavigne's research, with Stanford Daily Investigations Editor Theo Baker having broken the news of the alleged research misconduct last year.
The scandal prompted Tessier-Lavigne to announce his resignation on August 31, 2023, stating that it was in the best interest of the university and its community. In the interim, classics professor Richard Saller will be appointed as interim president, as announced by Jerry Yang, the president of the Board of Trustees.
