‘RIGOR’ MORTIS

Stanford President Resigns After Report Exposed ‘Significant’ Research Flaws

A review of Marc Tessier-Lavigne’s scientific work showed flaws that spanned decades, according to an independent review.

Marc Tessier-Lavigne stepped down as president of Stanford University on Wednesday after an independent review found “significant” flaws in research projects he oversaw, The New York Times reported. The departure puts a cap on a turbulent six months for Tessier-Lavigne, 64, which began with a report by the university’s student newspaper, The Stanford Daily, alleging in February that he covered up falsified data in a 2009 Alzheimer’s study. An independent review said the Daily was “mistaken” and that there was no proof of data falsification, but the students’ reporting led the university to dig deeper into Tessier-Lavigne’s past research. That probe uncovered flaws that reportedly spanned decades, including “multiple problems” that “fell below customary standards of scientific rigor and process” within the same Alzheimer’s study scrutinized by the Daily. The study also reportedly led Tessier-Lavigne to retract a 1999 paper that appeared in the journal Cell and two others that appeared in Science in 2001.