Professor Fabricated Research: UConn

A three-year investigation into research at a UConn lab has found that a professor fabricated research.

Dipak Das – a professor who gained national attention for his work into the beneficial properties of red wine -- has been found guilty of 145 counts of fabrication and falsification of data, according to a news release from UConn.

In response, the University of Connecticut Health Center is notifying 11 scientific journals that had published studies Das conducted.

“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.

The Health Center has also frozen all externally funded research in Das’ laboratory and declined to accept $890,000 in federal grants awarded to him.

Das, a professor in the Department of Surgery and director of the Cardiovascular Research Center, has been employed by the Health Center since 1984 and was awarded tenure in 1993. Dismissal proceedings are currently underway, according to UConn.

An anonymous allegation of research irregularities in 2008 sparked the investigation and inquiries are underway involving former members of Das’ lab, but no findings have been issued to date.

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“While we are deeply disappointed by the flagrant disregard for the University’s Code of Conduct, we are pleased the oversight systems in place were effective and worked as intended,” Austin added. “We are grateful that an individual chose to do the right thing by alerting the appropriate authorities. Our findings were the result of an exhaustive investigation that, by its very nature, required considerable time to complete.”

The journals the health center notified are: