STORRS, Conn.—It is a sad day for resveratrol, as a special review board at the University of Connecticut has determined a researcher falsified data in a number of studies on the grape and red wine ingredient. The board found Dipak K. Das, Ph.D., who directed the university's Cardiovascular Research Center, committed more than 100 acts of data fabrication and falsification. Mostly, the board found he combined separate data set together without notification or explanation.
The university notified 11 scientific journals that published studies conducted by Das were at the center of a 3-year investigation process that examined more than seven years of activity. The investigation was sparked by an anonymous allegation of research irregularities in 2008.
The comprehensive report, which totals approximately 60,000 pages, concluded Das is guilty of 145 counts of fabrication and falsification of data. Inquiries are underway involving former members of Das’s lab; however, no findings have been issued to date.
As a result of the investigation, the university halted all externally funded research in Das’s laboratory and declined to accept $890,000 in federal grants awarded to him. Dismissal proceedings currently are underway.
The journals notified were:
American Journal of Physiology – Heart & Circulatory
Antioxidants & Redox Signaling
Cellular Physiology & Biochemistry
Free Radical Biology
Free Radical Research
Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry
Journal of Cellular & Molecular Medicine
Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry
Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
Molecular & Cellular Cardiology
Molecular & Cellular Chemistry
“We have a responsibility to correct the scientific record and inform peer researchers across the country," said Philip Austin, interim vice president for health affairs.
While this corruption of data certainly questions the validity of Das' studies, it does not mean all resveratrol studies are nullified.
