Botanist Stephen Newmaster, whose controversial work has profoundly influenced how dietary supplements are tested and marketed, has not dealt with misconduct in science, the University of Gelf (UG) investigation committee has decided.
“Newmaster” showed a pattern of bad judgment and failed to apply the standards reasonably expected in research activities in its discipline, “commission chairman John Walsh wrote today in a letter to eight scientists who filed a complaint against Newmaster last year. However, despite “many shortcomings” in his work, the panel said there was “not enough evidence” for Newmaster to be found guilty of misconduct in three studies singled out by his prosecutors.
“Given the evidence gathered about the falsification of data, I was very surprised by the conclusion,” says evolutionary biologist Paul Hebert, a signatory to the complaint who runs the UG’s Center for Genomics of Biodiversity. Newmaster did not respond to a request for comment today.
Newmaster specializes in the application of DNA barcoding, a technique pioneered by Hebert, which identifies biological species based on DNA fragments, on plants and plant products. In 2013 BMC Medicine studies, accused the industry of selling substandard products contaminated with toxic pollutants. The paper provoked reports in the international media and led to the product being smashed by the Chief Prosecutor of New York.
The study also led Newmaster to global fame as a testing expert and industry advocate. His private companies and a non-profit group in UG have raised millions of dollars by certifying supplements, cannabis and other foods.
In a 43-page complaint filed with the University in June 2021, Hebert and other scholars - including co-authors of two of Newmaster’s works - said Newmaster had committed fraud and plagiarism and had not revealed a conflict of interest as needed. Their complaint focused on a study of supplements from 2013, which BMC Medicine he has since been placed under investigation; a 2014 article on the use of DNA barcodes to identify forest plants that was withdrawn in 2021; and a 2013 paper investigating the use of DNA barcoding to determine the diet of forest caribou.
Last year, Newmaster dismissed all charges in the lawsuit. “I have never engaged in any unethical activity or misconduct,” he wrote in an official response. Science.
Investigation from Science published in February, based on a review of thousands of pages of Nevmaster’s work, as well as his videos, Powerpoint presentations and websites, revealed a number of other cases in which he appeared to manipulate or fabricate data, plagiarize and fabricate elements of his academic record. Newmaster declined to comment Science story, and the panel did not address these additional issues.
Today’s letter to the complainants summarizes the conclusions of the panel, but provides some details on its reasoning. UG has yet to make a final decision, a process that could take several months. A spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on whether Newmaster could be sanctioned due to work problems identified by the commission. UG’s policy suggests that he would not be subject to penalties of any kind.
“This was a completely credible and well-founded claim with a lot of evidence,” said Stanford University postdoctoral fellow Ken Thompson, the signatory of the appeal who first cast doubt on Newmaster 2020. UG has repeatedly dismissed Thompson’s concerns and said he will not launch a formal investigation. until a group of eight scientists filed a complaint.
As a UG student who worked with Newmaster, Thompson was a co-author on the study of forest plants. Years later, Thompson realized that Newmaster had never shown him the raw data or placed it in the data warehouse, as needed. Newmaster and his colleague seemed to be using records from an unrelated experiment in an unsuccessful attempt to confirm the work, according to a complaint of misconduct. Magazine Biodiversity and conservation withdrew in October 2021, citing several serious problems. “The editor-in-chief … no longer has confidence in the validity of the information provided in this article,” the withdrawal notice said.
Newmaster’s prosecutors have expressed concern that the investigation may not be rigorous, given the lack of expertise of commission members in genomics. Walsh, the chairman, is the acting dean of the UG School of Business and Economics, Gordon S. Lang; Jeff Wichtel is dean of UG Veterinary College; and Cynthia Fecken is a psychologist at Queens University in Kingston. An unidentified expert provided assistance. Walsh did not respond to a request for comment today.
Thompson is particularly frustrated that the committee says allegations of misconduct are not supported due to a lack of records and data. “That was the essence of our complaint,” he said. “We knew they would not be able to find the records. Our complaint states that prof. Newmaster falsified his work and never had data to support it. That’s really disappointing. “
“There’s a big question we have to ask ourselves as scientists working in Canada,” Thompson added. “Do we really care about dealing with misconduct?”
They also supported this story Science Investigative Journalism Fund.