Fifteen scientific articles by psychologist Lorenza Colzato, formerly associated with Leiden University, must be withdrawn. Evidence of malpractice has been found in these publications, ranging from omitting test subjects to changing the study design halfway through the experiment. That is the conclusion of a second report by the Scientific Integrity Committee (CWI) of Leiden University.
university magazine mare discovered this week in the minutes of the Executive Board that this report existed. It turned out that it had already appeared in November, but there was no publicity about it.
The Colzato case dates back to 2018, when four whistleblowers in her investigation group sounded the alarm. Out a first study by the CWI that appeared in December 2019, it turned out that Colzato wasn’t close to scientific mores. She had sometimes skipped an ethical review, took blood from test subjects without permission, committed plagiarism and manipulated data. That judgment was later confirmed by the National Body for Scientific Integrity (LOWI); Colzato was fired. The university promised an investigation into traces of fraud in all publications Colzato had produced in Leiden. That is now limited.
The CWI has the new research 53 of Colzato’s 174 publications selected for closer inspection. These were articles published after 2015 and for which the data collection had taken place in Leiden. Almost half dropped out because insufficient data could be retrieved. Fifteen were labeled ‘red’ where irregularities were found and fourteen ‘green’ because no indications of discrepancies were found.
Serious manipulations
Among the ‘red’ articles, there are seven with such serious manipulations that the CWI advises asking the journals involved to withdraw the articles. In the other eight, it is ‘not evident’ that the manipulations may have influenced the results or conclusions.
Laura Steenbergen, one of the whistleblowers at the time, is pleased that this investigation has now been completed. “There was nothing new in it for me, because that fraud was precisely the reason that I started complaining at the time,” says Steenbergen. She realizes that the affair will always stick to her scientific career, even though she is now doing other research. “I still have the feeling that I am sometimes looked at with a sideways eye.”
Steenbergen is co-author of six of the fifteen designated publications. But the university does not allow her to say which ones they are. In the CWI report they are painted completely black. This is probably a result of the fact that the university has previously been held accountable for not handling the anonymity of those involved with care. Steenbergen finds it frustrating: “As long as it is not known which studies have been tampered with, all my publications will have an odor of suspicion.”
Colzato, who now works at a university clinic in Dresden, did not respond to a request for comment. The Executive Board was also not available.
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