COVID-19 Research integrity

Steve Jackson and the Moumen Troll

"I take issues of research integrity very seriously and shall of course review the concerns posted on PubPeer to establish whether there are any issues that need to be addressed." Stephen P Jackson.

Stephen P Jackson, Cambridge University professor and a major heavyweight in the field of DNA damage and cancer research worldwide, has trouble with another former postdoc. This time, Jackson Lab papers by Abdeladim Moumen were flagged on PubPeer. The man owns a biotech startup which currently provides all Morocco with proprietary COVID-19 kits.

The evidence in Moumen & Johnson papers, as flagged by Clare Francis, is heavy, and it looks like the second case of serious data falsification in the famous Cambridge lab.

In September 2018, I published the leaked news about the investigations into research fraud and bullying committed by Jackson’s former postdoc, Abderrahmane Kaidi. The University of Bristol sacked its lecturer, according to the documents I published later on it was over bullying of Kaidi’s lab members. Two papers from the Jackson lab were retracted in April 2019, one in Nature (Kaidi and Jackson 2013) and one in Science (Kaidi et al 2010), following an investigation by the University of Cambridge, which was referenced in a retraction notice:

The investigation concluded that the first author, Abderrahmane Kaidi, was responsible for the falsification of the data.”

Now same story, different postdoc?

The common lead author on the 3 papers from Jackson lab I will discuss below is Abdeladim Moumen. The Moroccan native did his PhD in the lab of Henri Buc at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, after his postdoc stint with Jackson Moumen became associate professor at the St George’s University in London, and in 2012 he returned to Morocco to works as a research director at the Moroccan Foundation for Advanced Science, Innovation and Research (MAScIR). Moumen also founded a MAScIR biotech spin-off, Moldiag, here its advertisement:

A success story, nothing to be ashamed of. And yet Moumen is not present in the group photo from 2017 Jackson Lab Reunion meeting, but Kaidi is grinning in the front, third to our left from Jackson (as disclaimer: also my ex-boss from Milan is there, second row right behind Jackson).

Source: Jackson Lab

Strange. Jackson lab reunions are big events sponsored by pharma industry like Astra Zeneca (who purchased Jackson’s company KuDOS) and a matter of huge prestige for all invited. If they are invited, that is. Jackson explained to me in an email:

If I remember correctly, Professor Moumen was invited to the reunion event, but was unable to attend.

Last year, Moumen’s company Moldiag produced a COVID-19 testing kit, the only one made in Morocco. For some reason, the governmental authorities were slow in approving those kits, which was presented as a scandal in local media. The oversight was swiftly fixed, in November 2020 Moldiag supplied the Moroccan public sector with a million of kits, and an advanced version was immediately approved. The company’s CEO Moumen was quoted:

The Covid-19 test was developed by the team at the Mascir medical biotechnology center in three weeks thanks to the experience accumulated over the past 10 years. In 2 months, we had a test ready and validated by Moroccan and foreign laboratories“.

I now wish to reassure everyone in Morocco that Moumen’s COVID-19 must be 1000% reliable, as his previous research from the Jackson lab proves. Like this Cell paper:

Abdeladim Moumen, Philip Masterson, Mark J. O’Connor, Stephen P. Jackson hnRNP K: an HDM2 target and transcriptional coactivator of p53 in response to DNA damage Cell (2005) doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2005.09.032

Wow. Look at all these fake western blots, with their cloned gel bands, recycled several times! Is anything at all in that Cell paper which is not fake? There is even more, look at this dance of the fake gel bands:

Did you notice that some data from the 2005 paper was reused in a different Cell press publication four years later, with Jackson and Moumen as co-authors? That was done in collaboration with Galina Selivanova in Sweden, a Karolinska Institutet professor who was in 2016 subject to a misconduct investigation (as I previously reported), which ended with full acquittal for all 9 Karolinska professors involved.

Selivanova has 7 papers flagged on PubPeer, four received Errata declaring that these “do not change the validity of the data nor the conclusions from the experiments“. Also the following 2009 Jackson-Moumen collaboration was corrected right when it was first published, because “In the right panel of Figure 6A of this article, the splicing from non-neighboring lanes was not indicated“.

Martin Enge, Wenjie Bao, Elisabeth Hedström, Stephen P. Jackson, Abdeladim Moumen, Galina Selivanova MDM2-dependent downregulation of p21 and hnRNP K provides a switch between apoptosis and growth arrest induced by pharmacologically activated p53 Cancer Cell (2009) doi: 10.1016/j.ccr.2009.01.019 

Which in Elsevier’s corporate philosophy means there is no need to declare that a blot in Figure 4D was recycled from a different paper where it showed something else. The paper has even more issues. Two years ago, this evidence was posted:

Selivanova commented on PubPeer, also 2 years ago:

We acknowledge the lane splicing in Fig4B and offer to inform the journal about this, so that they can decide whether to offer a correction, in which the lanes are separated by a line.

  • In regard to the potential duplication of images, we acknowledge that there are similarities between the images. Unfortunately, because of the people’s mobility between different jobs and countries since 2008, we no longer have access to the original data. Therefore we are unable to conclude if these are distinct blots or were the same with one being inadvertently mislabeled. We apologize for this.
  • Whatever the case, the induction of p53 and p21 by nutlin shown in Fig 4D have been observed by us and numerous other labs over many years, and these blots confirm what are well established facts about the p53/p21 response. Thus, whatever the case with the potential relatedness between the images, this does not alter the conclusion of our studies.

Because Selivanova was previously absolved in full by a Karolinska investigation, and the Elsevier journal Cancer Cell did not see the need to issue a second correction, the data manipulation was legalized. Retraction is not an option for a Cell press journal (read here and here).

The case is closed, forever and for all eternity, so I suppose Clare Francis shouldn’t have bothered submitting this new evidence, of the blots recycled from a Moumen-Jackson Cell 2005 paper, and also this:

Four figures at least in that Selivanova-Jackson copro-duction are manipulated. Expect exactly nothing from the publisher.

But let’s have a look at a third paper Moumen authored in Jackson’s lab.

Abdeladim Moumen, Christine Magill, Katherine L Dry, Stephen P. Jackson ATM-dependent phosphorylation of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein K promotes p53 transcriptional activation in response to DNA damage Cell Cycle (2013) doi: 10.4161/cc.23592

 

One fake western blot with cloned gel bands, one more manipulated gel figure where a lane was slapped on? Are the conclusions affected by this?

After a reminder email, Jackson replied to me announcing action:

Thank you for your message below and for writing to me, making me aware of the recent PubPeer posts, which I had not seen before you brought them to my attention. I take issues of research integrity very seriously and shall of course review the concerns posted on PubPeer to establish whether there are any issues that need to be addressed.

The Cambridge professor added:

I have forwarded your email to the Director of the Gurdon Institute so that appropriate institutional due diligence can be undertaken.

Moumen did not reply when contacted via LinkedIn.

Original photos: King Faisal Prize, Le Matin.

Unsurprisingly, the shenanigans continued once Moumen set up his own lab in London:

Jogitha Selvarajah, Androulla Elia, Veronica A. Carroll, Abdeladim Moumen DNA damage-induced S and G2/M cell cycle arrest requires mTORC2-dependent regulation of Chk1 Oncotarget (2015) doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.2813

A Jackson Lab blot, reused?

Before we end, here something else indirectly related to the Jackson Lab.

One of the most successful Jackson mentees is Simon Boulton, senior group leader at The Crick in London. This is from Boulton’s own lab:

J. Ross Chapman, Patricia Barral, Jean-Baptiste Vannier, Valérie Borel, Martin Steger, Antonia Tomas-Loba, Alessandro A. Sartori, Ian R. Adams, Facundo D. Batista, Simon J. Boulton RIF1 is essential for 53BP1-dependent nonhomologous end joining and suppression of DNA double-strand break resection Molecular Cell (2013) doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2013.01.002

It looks like a falsified figure, where a gel was recycled in different experimental context. Luckily it’s Cell Press again, which closes the case before it can be opened.

The article was updated on 5.04.2021 to include additional evidence of data manipulation.


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55 comments on “Steve Jackson and the Moumen Troll

  1. BMC Cancer. 2011 Feb 21;11:79. doi: 10.1186/1471-2407-11-79.
    A p53-independent role for the MDM2 antagonist Nutlin-3 in DNA damage response initiation
    Jane M Valentine 1, Sonia Kumar, Abdeladim Moumen

    Affiliation
    1DNA Damage Response Group, Basic Medical Science Department, St George’s University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London, UK.

    PMID: 21338495 PMCID: PMC3050855 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2407-11-79

    Pubpeer comment by Actinopolyspora Biskrensis.

    https://pubpeer.com/publications/F12829C57BC05986FD020E78B893ED

    Like

    • Zebedee

      Additional problematic data BMC Cancer. 2011 Feb 21;11:79. doi: 10.1186/1471-2407-11-79.

      Figure 2A.

      Much more similar after 180 degree rotation and slight horizontal and horizontal re-sizing than expected.

      Like

      • Zebedee

        Many would be happy with 67 citations.

        [HTML] A p53-independent role for the MDM2 antagonist Nutlin-3 in DNA damage response initiation
        JM Valentine, S Kumar, A Moumen – BMC cancer, 2011 – bmccancer.biomedcentral.com
        The mammalian DNA-damage response (DDR) has evolved to protect genome stability and
        maximize cell survival following DNA-damage. One of the key regulators of the DDR is p53,
        itself tightly regulated by MDM2. Following double-strand DNA breaks (DSBs), mediators …
        Cited by 67

        Like

      • Zebedee

        https://bmccancer.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2407-11-79

        Click on Authors name.

        Jane M Valentine
        DNA Damage Response Group, Basic Medical Science Department, St George’s University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London, UK

        Outreach for Medicine, Department of Medical Education, School of Medicine, King’s College London, 4.20 Shepherd’s House, Guy’s Campus, London Bridge, London, UK

        https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/jane-valentine

        Biography
        Jane is a Senior Lecturer in Medical Education and Co-Director of King’s Extended Medical Degree Programme (EMDP). She is also Admissions Tutor for the EMDP, Chair of the MBBS Prizes Panel and an MBBS Senior Tutor. Jane is a keen advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) within medical education. She has authored blogs, contributed to Parliamentary discussions and advised Government on social mobility, widening participation (WP) and access to the professions. Her academic interests are in curriculum development, teaching innovation – particularly the use of non-traditional teaching methods and environments – and DEI/WP-focused research.

        Like

  2. Science. 2007 Dec 7;318(5856):1637-40. doi: 10.1126/science.1150034. Epub 2007 Nov 15.
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2430610/

    Orchestration of the DNA-damage response by the RNF8 ubiquitin ligase

    Nadine K Kolas 1, J Ross Chapman, Shinichiro Nakada, Jarkko Ylanko, Richard Chahwan, Frédéric D Sweeney, Stephanie Panier, Megan Mendez, Jan Wildenhain, Timothy M Thomson, Laurence Pelletier, Stephen P Jackson, Daniel Durocher

    Affiliation

    Nadine K. Kolas,1,* J. Ross Chapman,2,* Shinichiro Nakada,1,* Jarkko Ylanko,1,3 Richard Chahwan,2 Frédéric D. Sweeney,1,3 Stephanie Panier,1 Megan Mendez,1 Jan Wildenhain,1 Timothy M. Thomson,4 Laurence Pelletier,1,3 Stephen P. Jackson,2,§ and Daniel Durocher1,3,§

    Author information Copyright and License information Disclaimer
    1Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, 600 University Avenue, Toronto, M5G 1X5, Ontario, Canada

    2The Wellcome Trust and Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute, and the Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1QN, UK

    3Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    4Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Instituto de Biología Molecular de Barcelona c. Jordi Girona 18-2608034 Barcelona, Spain

    §Address correspondence to:

    Daniel Durocher, Ph.D., Centre for Systems Biology, Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Room 1073, 600 University Avenue, Toronto, ON, CANADA, Tel: 416-586-4800 ext. 2544, Fax: 416-586-8869, e-mail: ac.no.irhsm@rehcorud

    Stephen P. Jackson, Ph.D., The Wellcome Trust and Cancer Research, UK Gurdon Institute, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1QN, UNITED KINGDOM, Tel: +44 (0)1223 334088, Fax: +44 (0)1223 334089, email: ku.ca.mac.nodrug@noskcaj.s
    *These authors contributed equally to this work

    PMID: 18006705 PMCID: PMC2430610 DOI: 10.1126/science.1150034

    Problematic data figure 3D. Much more similar than expected.

    Like

  3. Mol Cell. 2015 Aug 6;59(3):462-77. doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2015.06.007. Epub 2015 Jul 9.
    BOD1L Is Required to Suppress Deleterious Resection of Stressed Replication Forks

    Martin R Higgs 1, John J Reynolds 1, Alicja Winczura 2, Andrew N Blackford 2, Valérie Borel 3, Edward S Miller 1, Anastasia Zlatanou 1, Jadwiga Nieminuszczy 2, Ellis L Ryan 1, Nicholas J Davies 1, Tatjana Stankovic 1, Simon J Boulton 3, Wojciech Niedzwiedz 2, Grant S Stewart 4

    Affiliations
    1
    School of Cancer Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.
    2
    The Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK.
    3
    The Francis Crick Institute, Clare Hall Laboratories, South Mimms, Herts EN6 3LD, UK.
    4
    School of Cancer Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK. Electronic address: g.s.stewart@bham.ac.uk.
    PMID: 26166705 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2015.06.007

    Problematic data figures 5A and 6G. Legend figure 5A states “The blots originate from a single gel.
    A white line denotes removal of the superfluous lanes”,
    yet in figure 5G there are no splices in the BODL1 panel. There is nowhere for the “superfluous lanes”.

    What lanes have been removed if 6G is unspliced?

    Like

  4. “Abdeladim Moumen, Philip Masterson, Mark J. O’Connor, Stephen P. Jackson hnRNP K: an HDM2 target and transcriptional coactivator of p53 in response to DNA damage Cell (2005) doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2005.09.032”

    Figure 7A. Much more similar after 180 degree rotation than expected,

    https://imgur.com/UnMLkeg

    Like

    • “Abdeladim Moumen, Philip Masterson, Mark J. O’Connor, Stephen P. Jackson hnRNP K: an HDM2 target and transcriptional coactivator of p53 in response to DNA damage Cell (2005) doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2005.09.032”

      Figures 4A and 7A much more similar than expected.

      Like

  5. “Martin Enge, Wenjie Bao, Elisabeth Hedström, Stephen P. Jackson, Abdeladim Moumen, Galina Selivanova MDM2-dependent downregulation of p21 and hnRNP K provides a switch between apoptosis and growth arrest induced by pharmacologically activated p53 Cancer Cell (2009) doi: 10.1016/j.ccr.2009.01.019 ”

    Fine detail.
    Data in 1. Cancer Cell. 2009 Mar 3;15(3):171-83. doi: 10.1016/j.ccr.2009.01.01 from 2.Cell. 2005 Dec 16;123(6):1065-78.

    Figure 4D Cancer Cell. 2009 Mar 3;15(3):171-83 much more similar to figure 7A Cell. 2005 Dec 16;123(6):1065-78, 
    even though the experiments are different.

    Like

  6. Oncotarget. 2015 Jan; 6(1): 427–440.Published online 2014 Nov 15. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.2813PMCID: PMC4381605PMID: 25460505

    DNA damage-induced S and G2/M cell cycle arrest requires mTORC2-dependent regulation of Chk1

    Jogitha Selvarajah,1 Androulla Elia,1 Veronica A. Carroll,#1 and Abdeladim Moumen#2Jogitha Selvarajah,1 Androulla Elia,1 Veronica A. Carroll,#1 and Abdeladim Moumen#2

    Author information 1 Cardiovascular and Cell Sciences Research Institute, St George’s University of London, Cranmer Terrace, UK
    2 Division of Medical Biotechnology, MAscIR Institution, Rabat, Morocco

    1 Cardiovascular and Cell Sciences Research Institute, St George’s University of London, Cranmer Terrace, UK2 Division of Medical Biotechnology, MAscIR Institution, Rabat, Morocco#Contributed equally.Correspondence to:Veronica A. Carroll, ku.ca.lugs@llorracvAbdeladim Moumen, 

    Figure 2C. Much more similar to figure 1B Cell Cycle 12:4, 698–704 (2013) than expected,
    even though the experiments are different.

    FYI:
    Cell Cycle. 2013 Feb 15; 12(4): 698–704.
    doi: 10.4161/cc.23592
    PMCID: PMC3594270
    PMID: 23343766
    ATM-dependent phosphorylation of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein K promotes p53 transcriptional activation in response to DNA damage

    Abdeladim Moumen, 1 , † Christine Magill, 2 Katherine L. Dry, 2 and Stephen P. Jackson 2 ,*

    Author information
    1DNA Damage Response Group; Basic Medical Science Department; St. George’s University of London; London, UK
    2The Wellcome Trust and Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute and Department of Biochemistry; Cambridge University; Cambridge, UK
    †Current affiliation: Moroccan Foundation for Advanced Science, Innovation and Research; Rabat Design Center; Rabat, Morocco
    *Correspondence to: Stephen P. Jackson, Email: *Correspondence to: Stephen P. Jackson, Email: s.jackson@gurdon.cam ac.uk

    Pubpeer comments for Cell Cycle. 2013 Feb 15; 12(4): 698–704.

    https://pubpeer.com/publications/FEF5B43E894DD798B17122C43281E8

    Like

  7. “Abdeladim Moumen, Philip Masterson, Mark J. O’Connor, Stephen P. Jackson hnRNP K: an HDM2 target and transcriptional coactivator of p53 in response to DNA damage Cell (2005) doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2005.09.032”

    Figure 1E. Much more similar after vertical stretch than expected.

    Like

  8. “Martin Enge, Wenjie Bao, Elisabeth Hedström, Stephen P. Jackson, Abdeladim Moumen, Galina Selivanova MDM2-dependent downregulation of p21 and hnRNP K provides a switch between apoptosis and growth arrest induced by pharmacologically activated p53 Cancer Cell (2009) doi: 10.1016/j.ccr.2009.01.019 ”

    Data figure 4D, right set of panels becoming more problematic.
    Much more similar than expected, although all 3 cell types are different.

    Like

  9. Cancer Cell . 2009 May 5;15(5):441-53. doi: 10.1016/j.ccr.2009.03.021.

    Ablation of key oncogenic pathways by RITA-reactivated p53 is required for efficient apoptosis

    Vera V Grinkevich 1, Fedor Nikulenkov, Yao Shi, Martin Enge, Wenjie Bao, Alena Maljukova, Angela Gluch, Alexander Kel, Olle Sangfelt, Galina Selivanova

    Affiliation
    1Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, 17177, Stockholm, Sweden.
    PMID: 19411072 DOI: 10.1016/j.ccr.2009.03.021

    Figure 3B. The HCT116 pSer473Akt and Akt panels do not look like they come from the same blot, whereas the HCT118 TP53-/- pSer473Akt and Akt panels look like they come from the same blot.

    A 2017 erratum ,mentions figures 2C and 3C, but not 2B.
    https://www.cell.com/cancer-cell/fulltext/S1535-6108(17)30170-8

    Like

  10. Clin Cancer Res. 2013 Sep 15;19(18):5092-103. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-12-2211.

    Dual targeting of wild-type and mutant p53 by small molecule RITA results in the inhibition of N-Myc and key survival oncogenes and kills neuroblastoma cells in vivo and in vitro

    Mikhail Burmakin  1 , Yao Shi, Elisabeth Hedström, Per Kogner, Galina Selivanova

    Affiliation 1 Authors’ Affiliations:

    Department of Microbiology, Tumour and Cell biology (MTC); and Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

    PMID: 23864164 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-12-2211

    Problematic data figure 3D. Much more similar and different than expected.

    Like

    • 2021 Editor’s Note for:

      Clin Cancer Res. 2013 Sep 15;19(18):5092-103. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-12-2211.

      Dual targeting of wild-type and mutant p53 by small molecule RITA results in the inhibition of N-Myc and key survival oncogenes and kills neuroblastoma cells in vivo and in vitro

      Mikhail Burmakin 1 , Yao Shi, Elisabeth Hedström, Per Kogner, Galina Selivanova

      Affiliation 1 Authors’ Affiliations:

      Department of Microbiology, Tumour and Cell biology (MTC); and Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.

      Editor’s Note: Dual Targeting of Wild-Type and Mutant p53 by Small-molecule RITA Results in the Inhibition of N-Myc and Key Survival Oncogenes and Kills Neuroblastoma Cells In Vivo and In Vitro
      Mikhail Burmakin, Yao Shi, Elisabeth Hedström, Per Kogner and Galina Selivanova
      Clin Cancer Res September 1 2021 27 (17) 4943-4943; DOI:10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-21-2435

      The editors are publishing this note to alert readers to a concern about this article (1): in Fig. 3D, the p21 and Noxa Western blots for SKN-DZ were accidentally duplicated as the PUMA and Noxa Western blots for SKN-BE(2). The SKN-DZ blots were correct, and the authors have additional SKN-BE(2) blots available for review upon request. The authors regret this error and stand by the conclusions in the article.

      Reference
      1.↵Burmakin M, Shi Y, Hedström E, Kogner P, Selivanova G. Dual targeting of wild-type and mutant p53 by small molecule RITA results in the inhibition of N-Myc and key survival oncogenes and kills neuroblastoma cells in vivo and in vitro. Clin Cancer Res 2013;19:5092–103.

      Like

  11. More fool the Wellcome Trust! On the topic of the faked Cell paper (“hnRNPK”)!
    St George’s has absorbed the money (“overhead costs”). Will like to keep it all quiet.

    https://europepmc.org/grantfinder/grantdetails?query=pi%3A%22Moumen%2Ba%22%2Bgid%3A%22082609%22%2Bga%3A%22Wellcome%20Trust%22

    Wellcome Trust
    Funded by

    Wellcome Trust
    £ 142,873

    Duration
    01 Sep 2007 – 31 Mar 2011

    Internal grant ID
    082609

    Grant DOI
    10.35802/082609

    Funding stream
    Genetics, Genomics and Population Research

    Grant type
    Project Grant
    Publications
    All publications (1)
    Free to read articles (1)

    Regulation of hnRNP K and 4E-BP1 in response to DNA damage
    Dr a Moumen | St George’s University of London

    Abstract
    This collaborative project will investigate mechanisms controlling two proteins that are involved in changes in gene regulation that occur when a cell’s DNA is damaged (e.g. by radiation or chemicals). Our recent work suggests that the concentrations of these proteins, called hnRNP K and 4E-BP1,change in response to DNA damage due to modifications in the structure of the proteins that influence the cell’s ability to destroy them. The key goals of the project will be to investigate the control of these structural changes, tocharacterise the molecules responsible and to establish the significance of these events for the ability of cells to react to DNA damage. We will also analyse possible interactions between the pathways controlled by hnRNPK and 4E-BP1 that may have important consequences for the ability of cells to react to DNA damage without harm to the organism as a whole.

    Like

  12. How long does it take for the director of the Gurdon Institute, Cambridge, England, to review the problematic data, then write to Cell and Cancer Cell (same Augean stable) and Cell Cycle, insisting on the retraction of all 3 papers for image manipulation and using same data to represent different experiments?

    April, May, June…July, August (holidays)…Christmas 2021…Easter 2022….?

    Like

    • Christmas 2021 is imminent and the director of the Gurdon Institute has still not retracted Cell. 2005 Dec 16;123(6):1065-78.

      Like

  13. Quite a lot of pollution (citations) of the scientific record. University of Cambridge is very “woke”. Do something about the environment!

    Thought control.
    https://www.rt.com/uk/524774-cambridge-university-report-microaggressions/

    When it comes to the scientific record it couldn’t give a toss!
    https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=moumen+jackson&btnG=

    [HTML] hnRNP K: an HDM2 target and transcriptional coactivator of p53 in response to DNA damage
    A Moumen, P Masterson, MJ O’Connor, SP Jackson – Cell, 2005 – Elsevier
    In response to DNA damage, mammalian cells trigger the p53-dependent transcriptional
    induction of factors that regulate DNA repair, cell-cycle progression, or cell survival. Through
    differential proteomics, we identify heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein K (hnRNP K) …

    Cited by 323 Related articles All 12 versions

    [HTML] MDM2-dependent downregulation of p21 and hnRNP K provides a switch between apoptosis and growth arrest induced by pharmacologically activated p53
    M Enge, W Bao, E Hedström, SP Jackson, A Moumen… – Cancer cell, 2009 – Elsevier
    We have previously identified the p53-reactivating compound RITA in a cell-based screen.
    Here, using microarray analysis, we show that the global transcriptional response of tumor
    cells to RITA is p53 dependent. Pathway analysis revealed induction of the p53 apoptosis …

    Cited by 169 Related articles All 9 versions

    ATM-dependent phosphorylation of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein K promotes p53 transcriptional activation in response to DNA damage
    A Moumen, C Magill, K Dry, SP Jackson – Cell cycle, 2013 – Taylor & Francis
    Previous work has established that heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein K (hnRNP K)
    is stabilized in an ATM-dependent manner in response to DNA damage and acts as a
    cofactor for p53-mediated transcription. Here, we show that in response to DNA damage …
    Cited by 54 Related articles All 6 versions

    Like

  14. NMH, the failed scientist and incel

    I think as Failed Scientists our opinion may not matter. Even that Leader of the Fraudatorium Augustine Choi is back tweeting about how great he and that scandalous dump he works for (Weill-Cornell) are. I love the way he is always shilling for his wife.

    https://twitter.com/augustinemkchoi?lang=en

    Like

    • Zebedee

      “our opinion may not matter”.

      At least we can a have a good laugh!

      Like

    • Augustine Choi is not the same person as Abdeladim Moumen, or Stephen Jackson.

      Let’s see what happens in this case. Cambridge University and St George’s University may hold different standards than Cornell University.

      Like

      • NMH, the failed scientist and incel

        Cool! A test using the scientific method!

        Zeb hypothesizes that the british educational insitutions are more likely to punish rogue faculty than american institutions. Sure, this is on data point, but could eventually lead to a publication in a high impact factor journal. Remember, if it cant get into a high impact factor journal, it must be bad science, so the goal here is get more rogue faculty outed by Schneider so we have enough data points for a high impact factor journal.

        Like

  15. ” Jackson Moumen became associate professor at the St George’s University in London”

    St George’s University is a realively large and sophisticated employer. It should still have records of the candidates that applied for that associate prorfessor position.

    St Geroge’s University should now offer that position to the person second on that list.

    St George’s University is woke, it should put things right.

    Like

  16. Reply to NMH, the failed scientist and incel
    July 18, 2021

    ” goal here is get more rogue faculty outed by Schneider so we have enough data points for a high impact factor journal.”

    Yup.

    To date there is preliminary evidence that unviersities Scotland may be more likely to take action than universities in England, or Wales.

    For example Irina Stencheva was fired by the University of Edinburgh,
    https://forbetterscience.com/2018/06/18/edinburgh-breaks-silence-to-announce-stancheva-retractions/

    yet, Sarah Martin, who a comparable number of problematic publications remains in post at the Barts Cancer Institute, London.

    https://www.bartscancer.london/staff/dr-sarah-martin/

    Problematic papers.
    Sarah Martin (without Alan Ashworth):
    https://pubpeer.com/publications/2759A34758691741B87D49DFB05C3E
    https://pubpeer.com/publications/8E38ECD6759C2479400E4306A749EB
    https://pubpeer.com/publications/C961F8BD02A1C6B26EDD0358BEE8FC

    Sarah Martin with Alan Ashworth:
    https://pubpeer.com/publications/22A0D80CF891EEFEB7C23332484780
    https://pubpeer.com/publications/CECD3E767BD0AFA9DDB1BA919F663F
    https://pubpeer.com/publications/261D475F6640FC59C9A867EC7F5DD2
    https://pubpeer.com/publications/67F39E13B7C8B51E8F8F34D70AFF84

    Similarly QMUL, London has decided to take no action against Prof Thomas T MacDonald.

    https://www.qmul.ac.uk/blizard/all-staff/profiles/tom-macdonald.html
    Professor Tom MacDonald, PhD FRCPath FMedSci

    “He has served on many grant awarding panels and advisory groups and is currently a member of the review panel of NC3R’s, Action Medical Research, was a past member of PSMB at MRC (2007-11) and chairs the MRC non-clinical training panel, sits on the MRC training and careers panel, chairs the Mason Medical Foundation Awards panel and also chairs the Kings Health Partners Awards Panel. He is a co-investigator on an MRC Programme with Graham Lord from Kings College and receives support from Glaxo Smith Kline in the UK and USA, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Grunenthal, VH2 and Topivert to develop new molecules to treat inflammatory bowel disease.”

    Impressive Pubpeer record:
    https://pubpeer.com/publications/672F4F8A70BFBC3BE050D774C71488
    https://pubpeer.com/publications/03ED65961D0E5B83FEAC28BBD5BD4D
    https://pubpeer.com/publications/7F8A877887CF4CA7CA96B10A75674D
    https://pubpeer.com/publications/9D805B95C0D61C5C559B350ED10869
    https://pubpeer.com/publications/65E51DC922E5C8D1853A284C81652E
    https://pubpeer.com/publications/955A28B11F388331A0A51B0E03C4BB
    https://pubpeer.com/publications/798054ACD94648BB3748E20D75B1EE
    https://pubpeer.com/publications/4861C25530B30ABEE6AA025C746C3C
    https://pubpeer.com/publications/EED4F09DE9438C380E169D4EC96E98
    https://pubpeer.com/publications/E4C7771CBD8F9F54EEAB54CB39905A
    https://pubpeer.com/publications/A98514FE2714F2F8063CED78D8516B
    https://pubpeer.com/publications/8482F49638E7E61D86CD257354FAE4
    https://pubpeer.com/publications/8F7F07118764E28B1F6F59B0D2B25B
    https://pubpeer.com/publications/7063BE20879224A9DFA37D198D8639
    https://pubpeer.com/publications/6ED16FD333575E90EF97F2B85FB81B
    https://pubpeer.com/publications/3BD205655E0AB5927B48AB9B8DE393
    https://pubpeer.com/publications/57FF58D9434D8A758AD55DDF168DEE
    https://pubpeer.com/publications/90E0BB37F60D3AFBD7E66AFF778513

    https://www.scotsman.com/news/university-dundee-scientist-resigns-after-research-misconduct-1458779

    Robert Ryan resigned from the University of Dundee in 2017.

    https://retractionwatch.com/2018/08/09/glasgow-professor-leaves-post-amidst-multiple-retractions/

    Professor Fiona Lyall left her post at the University of Glasgow after 3 retractions.

    England does score two back,

    Eric Lam was fired from Imperial College London.
    https://retractionwatch.com/2021/05/28/imperial-college-london-researcher-fired-for-research-misconduct/
    https://forbetterscience.com/2018/11/22/eric-lam-shady-research-at-imperial-to-cure-breast-cancer/

    Univeristy of Bristol fired Abderrahmane Kaidi
    https://forbetterscience.com/2018/09/17/abder-kaidi-fraud-and-bullying-scandal-unravelling/

    I make that Scotland 3:-

    Irina Stancheva,
    Robert Ryan,
    Finoa Lyall

    England 2:-

    Eric Lam
    Abderrahmane Kaidi

    What you have to take into account is the populations of Scotland and England.

    Population Scotland
    https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/statistics/scotlands-facts/population-of-scotland
    5,466,000

    Popoulation England.
    https://www.visitnorthwest.com/essential/population-england/
    56,550,000

    i.e. more than 10 times the population of Scotland.

    Like

  17. What have Moomin trolls done to desrve this?
    Are there any Moomin trolls on record exhibiting this type of behavour?

    If you are not careful Moomin trolls will be tarred with the same brush!

    Like

  18. “Abdeladim Moumen, Philip Masterson, Mark J. O’Connor, Stephen P. Jackson hnRNP K: an HDM2 target and transcriptional coactivator of p53 in response to DNA damage Cell (2005) doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2005.09.032”

    Is there something the matter with “hnRNP K”?

    Nucleic Acids Res . 2004 Oct 14;32(18):5553-69. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkh876. Print 2004.

    Protein kinase CK2 phosphorylation regulates the interaction of Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus regulatory protein ORF57 with its multifunctional partner hnRNP K
    Poonam Malik 1, J Barklie Clements

    Affiliation
    1Division of Virology, Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Church Street, Glasgow, G11 5JR, Scotland, UK.
    PMID: 15486205 PMCID: PMC524287 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkh876

    Problematic data figure 6C. Much more similar than expected.

    Problematic data figure 8. Much more similar and different than expected.

    Like

    • Data in Nucleic Acids Res. 2004; 32(18): 5553–5569 very similar to data in J Gen Virol . 2004 Aug;85(Pt 8):2155-2166.

      Much more similar than expected.

      FYI:

      J Gen Virol. 2004 Aug;85(Pt 8):2155-2166. doi: 10.1099/vir.0.79784-0.
      Functional co-operation between the Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus ORF57 and ORF50 regulatory proteins
      Poonam Malik 1, David J Blackbourn 1, Ming Fei Cheng 2, Gary S Hayward 2, J Barklie Clements 1

      Affiliations
      1Division of Virology, Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Church Street, Glasgow G11 5JR, UK.
      2Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
      PMID: 15269354 DOI: 10.1099/vir.0.79784-0

      Like

      • https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Poonam-Malik-3

        Poonam Malik
        The University of Edinburgh | UoE · Usher Institute
        MBA (Edinb); PhD (Glas); MSc (IVRI), BSc (DEI); FRSB

        Protein kinase CK2 phosphorylation regulates the interaction of Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus regulatory protein ORF57 with its multifunctional partner hnRNP K
        Feb 2004
        Poonam Malik
        J Barklie Clements
        ORF57 protein of Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus has a counterpart in all herpesvirus of mammals and birds and regulates gene expression at transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. ORF57 was capable of self-interaction and bound a rapidly migrating form of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein K (hnRNP K), a multifunctional cellul…

        https://twitter.com/poons21?lang=en

        https://www.insider.co.uk/special-reports/role-models-mentorship-key-gender-23625916

        Role models and mentorship – key to gender equality
        Poonam Malik, a Scottish Enterprise board member, says businesses should mark International Women’s Day with new programme for change

        Today is International Women’s Day, a United Nations’-supported annual event that both celebrates the achievements of women and serves as a clarion call for gender equality.

        We should use this occasion to spotlight all the budding and brilliant women scientists, entrepreneurs, business leaders, innovators, investors and home builders out there, and those fortunate to work and live with them.

        McKinsey’s seminal report, Delivering Through Diversity , showed companies in the top-quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 21% more likely to outperform on profitability and 27% more likely to have superior value creation.

        Progress is being made and work has been done on getting women into executive positions at firms. Recent research showed that women now make up more than a third of top jobs at the UK’s 350 largest firms, while the number of women on boards has risen 50% from 682 to 1,026 in five years.

        All of these women will be a role model to someone.

        However, global milestones such as IWD are vital in reminding the world that despite the progress that has been made, gender parity has still not been achieved.

        It’s incumbent on all of us, whether in business, government, academia or the arts, to think every day, not just on IWD, about how our actions help achieve gender equality and better inclusion. And an effective way of doing this is creating role-models.

        You can’t be what you can’t see

        This one sentence captures the whole essence of the diversity debate.

        When I arrived in Scotland from India exactly 22 years ago, I could not see many women of colour in positions of influence in science, business or politics. Reflecting upon my career that developed from not knowing a single person in the UK to today, I’ve been privileged to receive so many incredible opportunities.

        These include having mentors who believed in my potential, serving on the board of Scottish Enterprise, becoming a Court Member at the University of Highlands & Islands and joining the GlobalScot diaspora network. In these roles, I’ve made it my mission to highlight the importance of having diverse leaders that the next generation can aspire to.

        Role-models and mentorship from senior colleagues cannot be underestimated. Look across the Pond at the positive reaction to Kamala Harris becoming the United States’ first female vice president and the first Asian American and first African American vice president as testament to that.

        However, business and academia remain guilty of not having a diverse make-up. Progress in diverse female representation at the highest level remains fragile and slow.

        Women and ethnic minorities continue to be under-represented in senior leadership roles and this has a detrimental impact on the chances of women-led businesses becoming successful. Indeed in 2019, less than 3% of all venture capital investment went to women-led companies.

        Despite women holding 46% of the UK’s wealth, less than 6% angel investors in Scotland are women: a direct correlation is less than 2% of venture funding going to female-founder companies as the Rose Review established and less than 0.6% to people of colour.

        So, how do we get more female and diverse role models in positions of power and influence?

        One way is challenging the status quo and not just accepting things as they are. How apt, therefore, the theme of this year’s IWD is Choose to Challenge .

        This was one of the subjects discussed at a recent GlobalScot virtual panel discussion I chaired to coincide with IWD 2021.

        Our event consisted of leading GlobalScots, all of whom have made a significant impact in their chosen field. The conversation was incredibly powerful, with questions about diversity and the bottom-line, conversations with the right people, the power of networks and the impact of Covid-19 on gender parity all passionately debated.

        One thing we all agreed on was the power of GlobalScots to spotlight the incredible, diverse women in Scotland. There’s no shortage of female talent here, all it needs is more exposure, something that our well-connected GlobalScot network can do internationally.

        Here in Scotland, we need all our people, organisations and businesses to ensure women leaders are supported and offered the same opportunities as their male peers. There are some fantastic projects that are doing just that.

        For example, Scottish Enterprise’s Principally Women programme supports female business leaders to gain the right skills and confidence to reach senior positions, Investing Women focuses on changing the face of angel investing and helping more women realise their growth potential, while Changing The Chemistry, champions increasing and enriching diversity of all kinds sustainably on all types of boards.

        As an organisation Scottish Enterprise has also created many employee-affinity groups for its people, including on gender balance. This provides support and new thinking on gender equality issues, particularly on a more equal uptake of family leave.

        These programmes are placing Scotland on the right path. But with the challenges of Covid-19, more can be done to ensure gender parity. We should harness the potential of women to be agents of positive societal change for Scotland and beyond, who will help play a key role in the global economic recovery.

        All of us should commit to:

        Enhancing mentoring and training opportunities for women business founders

        Making available investment for female businesses to recover better and faster

        Providing platform opportunities to young, diverse people of colour and BAME women to make their work visible and their voices more prominent, and

        Advocating for a sustainable future of work policy environment and flexible, open and transparent funding for business ‘Fempreneurs’

        So, as we mark International Women’s Day, let’s ensure our efforts extend beyond one day a year.

        Let’s help build a pipeline of diverse talent from the grassroots levels for succession planning of tomorrow’s leaders. Let’s collaborate, promote and celebrate our female colleagues. And let’s ensure they are the role models for future generations.

        Dr Poonam Malik, MBA PhD FRSB

        “And let’s ensure they are the role models for future generations.”

        Except herself.

        Like

    • Yet more problematic data Nucleic Acids Res. 2004; 32(18): 5553–5569.

      Figure 8B. Much more similar than expected.

      Like

    • Zebedee

      https://academic.oup.com/nar/advance-article/doi/10.1093/nar/gkac574/6619470

      Retraction of ‘Protein kinase CK2 phosphorylation regulates the interaction of Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus regulatory protein ORF57 with its multifunctional partner hnRNP K’
      Nucleic Acids Research, gkac574, https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkac574
      Published: 04 July 2022

      Following allegations of image manipulation in Figures 1A, 6C, 8B, 8C, and 8E in 2021, the journal conducted a brief investigation, referred the matter to the authors’ institution, and published an Expression of Concern. In May 2022, the institutional panel investigating the allegations concluded the figures are not authentic and the scientific integrity of the article is compromised, and they recommended retracting the article. Their report includes: ‘On the balance of probabilities, the Panel believe that these data as presented in the publication have been inappropriately manipulated. As such, the data and its interpretation are misleading and unreliable.’ The Editors of the journal are, therefore, now retracting this article.

      Like

      • Zebedee

        The University of Glasgow beat the University of Cambridge to retract a problematic hnRNP K paper.

        The University of Cambridge is vastly more wealthy than the University of Glasgow.

        Is the University of Cambridge going to plead poverty for not correcting the scientific record?

        Like

  19. Figure 2A.

    Much more similar after 180 degree rotation and slight horizontal and horizontal re-sizing than expected.

    Like

  20. https://www.insider.co.uk/special-reports/role-models-mentorship-key-gender-23625916

    Is very much like the clap-trap that Jane M Valentine spouts.

    https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/jane-valentine

    Biography
    Jane is a Senior Lecturer in Medical Education and Co-Director of King’s Extended Medical Degree Programme (EMDP). She is also Admissions Tutor for the EMDP, Chair of the MBBS Prizes Panel and an MBBS Senior Tutor. Jane is a keen advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) within medical education. She has authored blogs, contributed to Parliamentary discussions and advised Government on social mobility, widening participation (WP) and access to the professions. Her academic interests are in curriculum development, teaching innovation – particularly the use of non-traditional teaching methods and environments – and DEI/WP-focused research.

    Author of
    ttps://www.insider.co.uk/special-reports/role-models-mentorship-key-gender-23625916
    has:
    Nucleic Acids Res. 2004; 32(18): 5553–5569.
    Published online 2004 Oct 14. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkh876
    PMCID: PMC524287
    PMID: 15486205
    Protein kinase CK2 phosphorylation regulates the interaction of Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus regulatory protein ORF57 with its multifunctional partner hnRNP K
    Poonam Malik and J. Barklie Clements*
    Author information
    Division of Virology, Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Church Street, Glasgow, G11
    5JR, Scotland, UK

    *To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +44 141 330 4027; Fax: +44 141 337 2236; Email: b.clements@vir.gla.ac.uk.

    Problematic data figure 6C. Much more similar than expected.

    Problematic data figure 8B. Much more similar than expected.

    Problematic data figures 8C and 8E. Much more similar than expected.

    Jane M Valentine
    has:
    BMC Cancer. 2011 Feb 21;11:79. doi: 10.1186/1471-2407-11-79.
    A p53-independent role for the MDM2 antagonist Nutlin-3 in DNA damage response initiation
    Jane M Valentine 1, Sonia Kumar, Abdeladim Moumen

    Affiliation
    1DNA Damage Response Group, Basic Medical Science Department, St George’s University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London, UK.

    PMID: 21338495 PMCID: PMC3050855 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2407-11-79

    Pubpeer comment by Actinopolyspora Biskrensis.

    https://pubpeer.com/publications/F12829C57BC05986FD020E78B893ED

    Figure 2A.

    Much more similar after 180 degree rotation and slight horizontal and horizontal re-sizing than expected.

    Figure 2A.

    Much more similar after 180 degree rotation and slight horizontal and horizontal re-sizing than expected.

    Like

    • Nearly 2 years now. Soon be Easter again.
      S.P. Jackson (University of Cambridge) must be happy that he has been let off the hook and can breathe a sigh of relief.

      Like

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