Free Republic

Rumors of altered images in some of the research papers published by Stanford University President Marc Tessier-Lavigne had circulated since 2015. But the allegations involving the neuroscientist got little attention beyond the niche scientific forum where they first appeared — until Stanford freshman Theo Baker decided to take a closer look. Baker, a journalist for the Stanford Daily, published his first story on problems surrounding Tessier-Lavigne’s research in November. His dogged reporting kicked off a chain of events that culminated this week with the president’s announcement that he would step down from his post at the end of August. Tessier-Lavigne...

Stanford University President Marc Tessier-Lavigne announced Wednesday that he would resign from his post after an independent investigation found “serious flaws” in some of the research he oversaw decades earlier. The panel of experts, which formed in January to look into allegations of research misconduct, found that Tessier-Lavigne did not personally engage in any fraud or manipulation of research data, nor did he have any knowledge of the malpractice going on in the lab. Still, the report found that on various occasions, when concerns about his papers emerged, Tessier-Lavigne “failed to decisively and forthrightly correct mistakes in the scientific record.”...