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Row over study puts Korea's scientific community under scrutiny again
April 09, 2007Duplicate publication: A bitter dispute
This week's BMJ investigates a bitter row over a scientific paper that is putting Korea's scientific community under scrutiny once again.
The dispute has pitted a young Korean doctor, Jeong Hwan Kim, against Kwang Yul Cha, a fertility specialist and one of the most powerful players in the country's struggle for biotech supremacy, writes journalist Jonathan Gornall. It is also threatening to disrupt Korea's efforts to recover scientific credibility in the wake of the recent scandal over Woo-Sok Hwang's stem cell research.
Dr Kim claims a paper about premature ovarian failure that he originally published in the Korean Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in January 2004 was translated and republished in the American journal Fertility and Sterility under a different title and with different authors in December 2005.
What is indisputable is that Dr Kim's name was not present in the later version of the paper and that in his place as lead author was Dr Cha, his former employer and the head of CHA Health Systems, a "global healthcare enterprise" whose interests include the CHA Stem Cell Institute and several hospitals and clinics in Korea and the US.
But the BMJ has learnt that the editor in chief of Fertility and Sterility has been threatened with legal action by Dr Cha, and that one of Dr Cha's co-authors on the disputed paper, Dr Sook Hwan Lee, has been charged with criminal copyright infringement.
Dr Kim told the BMJ that the paper had begun life as his PhD thesis and that there were just two names on it when it was published by Korea University in May 2003. He then submitted this as a paper to the Korean Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in July 2003 with five additional names, including Sook Hwan Lee.
But his surprise turned to shock when, in December 2005, he saw a similar paper in Fertility and Sterility. He was even more shocked to see that the number of authors had reduced to six and that he was no longer one of them. The lead author was Dr Cha.
In December last year, Dr Kim filed a lawsuit in Korea against Dr Cha and Dr Lee, alleging breach of copyright. Dr Lee responded by alleging that Dr Kim had defamed her. The CHA group also claims that Dr Kim stole the data used in the study.
In February, the co-director of the CHA Stem Cell Institute, Professor Kwang Soo Kim, wrote to Fertility and Sterility to express regret about the incident. He explained how "our institution will serve a pivotal role in restoring the severely damaged reputation and credibility of stem cell and life science research in Korea after the Hwang scandal."
Professor Kim's intervention leaves little doubt about how seriously the CHA group views the potential of the incident to damage its bid to inherit Hwang's crown, says Gornall. Before his fall from grace, Professor Hwang received the bulk of Korean government funding in stem cell research. But, in November last year, CHA Medical Group announced its plans to succeed Professor Hwang's now defunct World Stem Cell Hub by building Korea's largest stem cell institute on land provided by the Korean government.
BMJ-British Medical Journal
Dr Kim claims a paper about premature ovarian failure that he originally published in the Korean Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in January 2004 was translated and republished in the American journal Fertility and Sterility under a different title and with different authors in December 2005.
What is indisputable is that Dr Kim's name was not present in the later version of the paper and that in his place as lead author was Dr Cha, his former employer and the head of CHA Health Systems, a "global healthcare enterprise" whose interests include the CHA Stem Cell Institute and several hospitals and clinics in Korea and the US.
But the BMJ has learnt that the editor in chief of Fertility and Sterility has been threatened with legal action by Dr Cha, and that one of Dr Cha's co-authors on the disputed paper, Dr Sook Hwan Lee, has been charged with criminal copyright infringement.
Dr Kim told the BMJ that the paper had begun life as his PhD thesis and that there were just two names on it when it was published by Korea University in May 2003. He then submitted this as a paper to the Korean Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in July 2003 with five additional names, including Sook Hwan Lee.
But his surprise turned to shock when, in December 2005, he saw a similar paper in Fertility and Sterility. He was even more shocked to see that the number of authors had reduced to six and that he was no longer one of them. The lead author was Dr Cha.
In December last year, Dr Kim filed a lawsuit in Korea against Dr Cha and Dr Lee, alleging breach of copyright. Dr Lee responded by alleging that Dr Kim had defamed her. The CHA group also claims that Dr Kim stole the data used in the study.
In February, the co-director of the CHA Stem Cell Institute, Professor Kwang Soo Kim, wrote to Fertility and Sterility to express regret about the incident. He explained how "our institution will serve a pivotal role in restoring the severely damaged reputation and credibility of stem cell and life science research in Korea after the Hwang scandal."
Professor Kim's intervention leaves little doubt about how seriously the CHA group views the potential of the incident to damage its bid to inherit Hwang's crown, says Gornall. Before his fall from grace, Professor Hwang received the bulk of Korean government funding in stem cell research. But, in November last year, CHA Medical Group announced its plans to succeed Professor Hwang's now defunct World Stem Cell Hub by building Korea's largest stem cell institute on land provided by the Korean government.
BMJ-British Medical Journal
Stem Cell Current Events and Stem Cell News RSSNew discovery about the formation of new brain cells
The generation of new nerve cells in the brain is regulated by a peptide known as C3a, which directly affects the stem cells' maturation into nerve cells and is also important for the migration of new nerve cells through the brain tissue, reveals new research from the Sahlgrenska Academy published in the journal Stem Cells.
Gene mismatch influences success of bone marrow transplants
A commonly inherited gene deletion can increase the likelihood of immune complications following bone marrow transplantation, an international team of researchers reports in the November 22 advance online issue of Nature Genetics.
New research shows versatility of amniotic fluid stem cells
For the first time, scientists have demonstrated that stem cells found in amniotic fluid meet an important test of potential to become specialized cell types, which suggests they may be useful for treating a wider array of diseases and conditions than scientists originally thought.
First reconstitution of an epidermis from human embryonic stem cells
Stem cell research is making great strides. This is yet again illustrated by a study carried out by the I-STEM* Institute (I-STEM/ Inserm UEVE U861/AFM), published in the Lancet on 21 November 2009. The I-STEM team, directed by Marc Peschanski has just succeeded in recreating a whole epidermis from human embryonic stem cells.
Your Own Stem Cells Can Treat Heart Disease
The largest national stem cell study for heart disease showed the first evidence that transplanting a potent form of adult stem cells into the heart muscle of subjects with severe angina results in less pain and an improved ability to walk. The transplant subjects also experienced fewer deaths than those who didn't receive stem cells.
U of M researchers find 2 units of umbilical cord blood reduce risk of leukemia recurrence
A new study from the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota shows that patients who have acute leukemia and are transplanted with two units of umbilical cord blood (UCB) have significantly reduced risk of the disease returning.
Researchers find potential treatment for Huntington's disease
Investigators at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham), the University of British Columbia's Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics and the University of California, San Diego have found that normal synaptic activity in nerve cells (the electrical activity in the brain that allows nerve cells to communicate with one another) protects the brain from the misfolded proteins associated with Huntington's disease.
Researchers 'notch' a victory toward new kind of cancer drug
Scientists have devised an innovative way to disarm a key protein considered to be "undruggable," meaning that all previous efforts to develop a drug against it have failed.
UCI embryonic stem cell therapy restores walking ability in rats with neck injuries
The first human embryonic stem cell treatment approved by the FDA for human testing has been shown to restore limb function in rats with neck spinal cord injuries - a finding that could expand the clinical trial to include people with cervical damage.
First use of antibody and stem cell transplantation to successfully treat advanced leukemia
For the first time, researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have reported the use of a radiolabeled antibody to deliver targeted doses of radiation, followed by a stem cell transplant, to successfully treat a group of leukemia and pre-leukemia patients for whom there previously had been no other curative treatment options.
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