Fraud, manipulation and research misconduct can lead scientists down a slippery slope, affecting drug development, grant funding, and patients’ lives. Scientists working in the field of Alzheimer’s research are under enormous pressure to maintain grant funding, publish, and, ultimately, find a cure. For decades, their primary focus has been preventing or eliminating amyloid plaque in the brain, an approach that builds on prior research discoveries. We’re now learning that decades of research may have been misguided, or even fraudulent.
Charles Piller, an investigative journalist for Science and author of “Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance, and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimer’s,” has reported on clear signs of manipulated images by a top National Institute of Aging scientist, found multiple examples of deception by other Alzheimer’s researchers, and exposed questionable behavior by FDA officials about who had a role in Alzheimer’s drug development and approvals.
Piller collaborated with Matthew Schrag, M.D., Ph.D., a top neuroscientist at Vanderbilt University, who first spotted these instances of data manipulation. Piller’s reporting was a wake-up call for many in the scientific community, including at the National Institutes of Health.
In this webinar, Piller and Schrag will discuss what they uncovered, how the situation spiraled, how to spot red flags on questionable papers, and what journalists should know about the future of Alzheimer’s research.
Moderator
Liz Seegert
AHCJ Health Beat Leader for AgingLiz Seegert is AHCJ’s health beat leader on aging. She’s an award-winning, independent health journalist based in New York’s Hudson Valley, who writes about caregiving, dementia, access to care, nursing homes and policy. Seegert is also a contributing writer for Fortune.com, the American Journal of Nursing, and PBS/NextAvenue.org, reporting on myriad health topics, including social determinants of health and women’s health. She has written for TIME Health, The Wirecutter, Money.com, Medscape, Consumer Reports, The Guardian and Medical Economics, as well as dozens of other trade and mainstream media. Her articles have been syndicated in Forbes.com, the Los Angeles Times, the Hartford Courant, The Saturday Evening Post and other major outlets.
Charles Piller
Investigative journalist, ScienceCharles Piller is an investigative journalist for Science magazine whose work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, the Sacramento Bee, and other publications. Piller has been honored with many national journalism awards and is the co-author of “Gene Wars: Military Control over the New Genetic Technologies” and the author of “The Fail-Safe Society: Community Defiance And The End Of American Technological Optimism” and “Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance, and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimer’s.” He has reported on public health, biological warfare, infectious disease outbreaks, and other topics from the United States, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Central America.
Matthew Schrag, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant professor of neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical CenterMatthew Schrag, M.D., Ph.D., is an assistant professor of neurology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and a principal investigator at Schrag Lab, who studies the overlap between vascular and cognitive neurological diseases. His research focuses on the mechanisms of vascular degeneration in cerebral amyloid angiopathy and how this contributes to cognitive impairment in Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr. Schrag’s investigative work is independent of his job at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and is not speaking on behalf of the university for this webinar.