Sam Yoon, MD, chief of the surgical oncology division at New York City-based Columbia University Irving Medical Center, is facing scrutiny after a blogger found concerns with the images and data published in many of his research papers, The New York Times reported Feb. 15.
Since 2008, Dr. Yoon has collaborated on 26 articles that have been flagged by British scientific sleuth Sholto David, PhD, an independent molecular biologist, for containing suspect data and images. Dr. David said he found several studies from Dr. Yoon that contained identical images from separate experiments. After examining 16 years of published research, Dr. David said he found a range of relatively minor image copies in papers to more serious discrepancies, including 10 articles that allegedly showed repeated use of identical or overlapping black-and-white images of cancer cells supposedly under different conditions.
"There's no reason to have done that unless you weren't doing the work," Dr. David told the Times.
When Dr. David published his initial findings on a blog, he also notified Memorial Sloan Kettering, where Dr. Yoon worked when much of the research was conducted, Columbia and the journals. When articles were retracted, the journal editors notified Dr. Yoon, but he did not alert Memorial Sloan Kettering, the hospital told the Times.
New York City-based Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center said it is now investigating the studies. Other publications and medical journals have retracted or are investigating the papers after inquiries from the Times.
The situation is an example of the "broken system for policing scientific research," according to experts who spoke with the Times.
The problem has gone on for years, in part due to the large volume of studies publishers put out, experts told the Times.
"The journals do the bare minimum," Elisabeth Bik, PhD, a microbiologist who also studies research integrity, told the Times. "There's no oversight."
The growing number of medical journals has fueled demand for more research articles, but journals operate as publishing companies and often respond slowly or not at all to articles that show issues. Retractions are rare, and papers with problems continue to be published.
Dr. Yoon began working at Columbia in September 2021, where he was celebrated for his prolific research output, according to the report. His was financed by federal research money that year.
Columbia University Irving Medical Center told Becker's, it "is fully committed to upholding the highest standards of ethics and to rigorously maintaining the integrity of our research. Columbia thoroughly reviews any concerns about scientific integrity brought to our attention in accordance with institutional policies and applicable regulations."
Dr. Yoon did not answer the Times' questions, but he has said previously his research could lead to better cancer treatments.
Dr. David has started investigations into other high-profile scientific papers, including dozens of papers from Dana-Farber researchers.