When Fraudsters Do Science | The Rise and Fall of Celebrity “Scientist” Paolo Macchiarini

Summary

The video script narrates the downfall of Paolo Macchiarini, once celebrated for his bioengineered trachea transplants. It details the journey from his groundbreaking work to the revelation of his fraudulent practices, including lying about his medical achievements and personal life. The narrative explores the challenges faced by whistleblowers, the role of institutions in enabling such deception, and the need for better safeguards in scientific research and academia.

Takeaways

• 🎓 Paolo Macchiarini was once renowned for his work in tissue engineering, particularly for his development of a bioengineered trachea transplant using a patient's own cells.
• 🔍 The breakthrough was initially celebrated as a significant advancement in regenerative medicine, with the potential to eliminate the need for organ donors by growing organs in the lab.
• 🚫 However, it was later revealed that Macchiarini's work was fraudulent, and his transplants were not as successful as claimed, leading to severe health complications for patients.
• 🏥 Macchiarini's rise to fame began at the University of Barcelona and continued at the prestigious Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, where he was awarded for his seemingly revolutionary work.
• 📝 The first to raise concerns about Macchiarini's methods was Professor Pierre Delaere, who wrote to the Karolinska Institute warning of the procedure's failures in animal models.
• 🤔 Despite early warnings, the Karolinska Institute initially ignored the concerns, and Macchiarini continued to perform surgeries across Europe.
• 🕵️‍♂️ A group of researchers at Karolinska, led by Carl-Henric Grönwall, conducted an internal investigation, uncovering Macchiarini's fraudulent activities in a detailed 400-page report.
• 📉 The exposure of Macchiarini's deception was a result of persistent efforts by whistleblowers, investigative journalism, and documentaries that brought his actions to light.
• 💔 The aftermath of the scandal saw significant repercussions for Macchiarini, with the Karolinska Institute eventually clearing him of scientific misconduct charges but firing him due to public outcry.
• 🛑 The scandal also had severe consequences for the whistleblowers, who faced retaliation, damaged careers, and difficulty securing future research funding.
• 🌐 The story highlights the need for better protection of whistleblowers, stronger regulatory bodies to oversee scientific research, and a cultural shift in academia to prevent such fraud from recurring.

Q & A

Who is the main subject of the story presented by Chris Sandrich?

The main subject of the story is Paolo Macchini, a man who was once considered one of the most famous surgeons in the world for developing a bioengineered trachea transplant.

What was the breakthrough that Dr. Paolo Macchini initially claimed to have achieved?

Dr. Paolo Macchini claimed to have achieved a breakthrough in tissue engineering by developing a bioengineered trachea transplant that was grown from the patient's own cells, reducing the risk of immune rejection.

What was the first type of transplant surgery Dr. Macchini performed using a cadaveric trachea?

The first transplant surgery Dr. Macchini performed using a cadaveric trachea involved using a donor's trachea that had been decellularized, then reseeded with the recipient patient's own stem cells isolated from their bone marrow.

Why was Dr. Macchini's work at the University of Barcelona significant in the field of tissue engineering?

Dr. Macchini's work at the University of Barcelona was significant because it represented the first major breakthrough in tissue engineering, showing the potential for lab-grown, replaceable organs using stem cells.

What prestigious institution did Dr. Macchini join after his initial success, and what was its significance?

Dr. Macchini joined the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, which is considered one of the top universities in the world and is home to the Nobel Assembly, making it a highly prestigious research institution.

What was the technique Dr. Macchini developed to manufacture a tracheal scaffold, and how did it work?

Dr. Macchini developed a technique to create a tracheal scaffold from a biodegradable plastic. The process involved taking CAT scans of the patient to create a 3D model, fabricating the model using a porous biodegradable scaffold, and seeding it with the patient's own bone marrow stem cells.

Who was the first person to receive Dr. Macchini's tracheal scaffold transplant, and what was their condition?

The first person to receive Dr. Macchini's tracheal scaffold transplant was Adi Amar Iami Bei, an Eritrean native studying for his PhD in Iceland, who had a tumor in his windpipe that was not responding well to radiation therapy.

What were the initial outcomes for the patients who received the tracheal transplants, and how were they reported in the media?

Initially, the patients who received the tracheal transplants were reported to be recovering well, with much press coverage elevating Dr. Macchini's status in the field. However, later it was discovered that the transplants were failing, with patients experiencing collapsed, infected, and clogged windpipes.

Who was the first to raise concerns about Dr. Macchini's work, and what were their reasons?

Pierre Delforge, a professor and tracheal surgeon at the University of Leuven in Belgium, was the first to raise concerns about Dr. Macchini's work. He cited numerous failed animal models and the lack of evidence for stem cell-induced regeneration as reasons for his concerns.

What actions did the researchers at Karolinska Institute take when they discovered the truth about Dr. Macchini's surgeries, and what was the outcome?

The researchers at Karolinska Institute, led by Carl-Henric Grinnemo, conducted an internal investigation, pouring through medical records and contacting patient families, ultimately writing a 400-page report detailing Dr. Macchini's fraud. However, instead of being taken seriously, they faced retaliation, including accusations of research fraud and violations of patient privacy laws.

What was the role of Bonita Alexander in the downfall of Dr. Macchini, and how did she discover his lies?

Bonita Alexander, an NBC News producer, played a significant role in Dr. Macchini's downfall by developing a secret romance with him and later discovering his lies about being the Pope's personal doctor and having a wife. She hired a private investigator who confirmed the truth, and she later made a documentary about her experience titled 'He Lied About Everything.'

What were the consequences for Dr. Macchini and the researchers who exposed his fraud at the Karolinska Institute?

Dr. Macchini was eventually cleared of scientific misconduct charges by the Karolinska Institute, although he was fired due to public outcry. The researchers who exposed his fraud, including Carl-Henric Grinnemo, faced retaliation, were found to share blame for co-authoring the fraudulent paper, and struggled to secure future research funding.

What measures were suggested in the script to prevent similar research fraud incidents in the future?

The script suggests protecting whistleblowers, potentially establishing an international regulating body to oversee journals and penalize faulty research, and having a discussion about the structure and culture in academia to address power imbalances and the dependency of researchers on superiors for career advancement.

Outlines

00:00

🔬 Rise and Fall of Surgeon Paolo Macchiarini

Paolo Macchiarini, once renowned for his bioengineered trachea transplant using patients' own stem cells, is revealed to have fabricated his groundbreaking work. Born in Switzerland and educated in Italy and France, Macchiarini gained fame for his innovative tissue engineering surgeries, leading to a prestigious position at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. However, his surgeries were later found to be unsuccessful, with patients experiencing severe complications. The first patient to receive the surgery, Andemariam Bekele, recovered well, but the second, Christopher Lyles, died three months post-surgery. Despite early skepticism from the scientific community, Macchiarini's work was widely accepted without critical examination.

05:01

🚨 Exposing the Fraud: The Whistleblowers' Struggle

The narrative takes a turn as whistleblowers, led by Carl-Henric Grinnemo, a junior researcher at Karolinska, begin to question Macchiarini's methods. Despite being a co-author on Macchiarini's paper and initially benefiting from the association, Grinnemo's conscience and the shocking conditions of the transplant patients compel him to investigate. The team's meticulous examination of medical records and patient follow-ups culminates in a 400-page report exposing Macchiarini's fraudulent activities. However, their efforts are met with institutional resistance, retaliatory measures, and personal attacks, casting a dark shadow over the integrity of scientific research and the protection of whistleblowers.

10:03

💔 Love, Lies, and the Celebrity Surgeon's Downfall

Macchiarini's personal life intertwines with his professional deception as he fabricates a relationship with NBC producer Bonita Alexander, claiming to be the Pope's personal doctor and a member of an elite group of doctors. Their engagement and the planned wedding, which included fake invitations to world leaders, further unravel Macchiarini's web of lies. The exposure of his deceit comes from Alexander's discovery of the Pope's real schedule and the subsequent revelation of his existing marriage and mistress. This personal scandal, alongside the scientific fraud, leads to a public outcry and the eventual unraveling of Macchiarini's reputation.

15:04

🏥 Institutional Failure and the Consequences for Whistleblowers

Despite the evidence of Macchiarini's fraudulent research practices, Karolinska Institute initially clears him of scientific misconduct, leading to public outrage and institutional upheaval. The president resigns, and the board is replaced, but the damage to the whistleblowers' careers is done. Grinnemo and his colleagues face professional repercussions, with their research funding and reputations severely impacted. Macchiarini, although eventually fired from Karolinska, continues to receive funding and positions elsewhere, highlighting the systemic issues within academia and the need for better protection of whistleblowers.

20:15

🛑 Lessons Learned and the Path Forward

The Macchiarini case raises critical questions about the structure and culture of academia, the protection of whistleblowers, and the need for international regulation of scientific research. It underscores the importance of honest scientific discourse, the acknowledgment of failures alongside successes, and the necessity for a more transparent and accountable system. The case serves as a stark reminder of the potential for abuse within the scientific community and the high stakes of maintaining integrity in research.

Keywords

💡Bioengineered Trachea

A bioengineered trachea refers to a windpipe that has been artificially created using biological processes. In the video's narrative, Paolo Macchiarini developed a technique to grow a trachea from a patient's own cells, which was initially hailed as a breakthrough in tissue engineering. The concept is central to the story as it represents the scientific innovation that was later revealed to be fraudulent.

💡Tissue Engineering

Tissue engineering is an interdisciplinary field that applies the principles of engineering and life sciences to the development of biological substitutes that restore, maintain, or improve tissue function. The video discusses tissue engineering in the context of creating lab-grown organs, such as the bioengineered trachea, which was a significant focus of Macchiarini's work and the crux of the controversy.

💡Immune Rejection

Immune rejection is a biological response where the body's immune system attacks and eliminates foreign substances or tissues, such as transplanted organs. The video mentions that one of the advantages of Macchiarini's bioengineered trachea was the reduced risk of immune rejection since it was grown from the patient's own cells.

💡Karolinska Institute

The Karolinska Institute is a prestigious medical university in Sweden, known for its high standards in research and education. It is also home to the Nobel Assembly, which awards the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. In the video, Macchiarini's association with the institute and the controversy surrounding his research highlight the theme of scientific integrity and the consequences of research misconduct.

💡Research Fraud

Research fraud encompasses various forms of dishonesty or misconduct in research, including fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism. The video's main theme revolves around Macchiarini's research fraud, where he allegedly lied about the success of his bioengineered trachea transplants, causing significant harm to patients and damaging the credibility of the scientific community.

💡Whistleblower

A whistleblower is an individual who exposes wrongdoing, misconduct, or illegal activities within an organization. In the script, Carl-Henric Grinnemo and his colleagues are portrayed as whistleblowers who investigated Macchiarini's fraudulent research, highlighting the importance of integrity and the courage required to challenge authority in the face of potential backlash.

💡Regenerative Medicine

Regenerative medicine is a branch of medicine that deals with the repair, replacement, or regeneration of cells, tissues, or organs to restore normal function. The video discusses the potential of regenerative medicine in the context of stem cell research and the development of the bioengineered trachea, emphasizing the high expectations and the ethical implications of such advancements.

💡Stem Cells

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that have the potential to develop into many different types of cells in the body. They are a key component in the field of regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. The video mentions stem cells in relation to Macchiarini's trachea transplants, where he used the patients' own stem cells to grow the trachea, which was a central aspect of the purported innovation.

💡Freelance Surgeon

A freelance surgeon, as mentioned in the video, is an unconventional term that implies someone who operates independently without being affiliated with a specific institution. Macchiarini refers to himself as a freelance surgeon after being dismissed from his positions, suggesting a lack of formal affiliation and potentially questionable practices.

💡Hospital Exemption

Hospital exemption, as discussed in the video, refers to a regulatory provision that allows patients to receive experimental treatments when conventional therapies have been exhausted. Macchiarini allegedly exploited this provision by falsely claiming that his trachea transplants met the necessary conditions, including successful animal studies, to administer unproven treatments to patients.

Highlights

Paolo Macchiarini was once considered one of the most famous surgeons in the world for developing a bioengineered trachea transplant from a patient's own cells.

The breakthrough in tissue engineering promised to end the organ donor transplant list, but it was later revealed to be a lie.

Macchiarini's early success with a cadaveric trachea transplant led to his position at the prestigious Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.

At Karolinska, Macchiarini developed a technique to create a tracheal scaffold from biodegradable plastic, seeded with the patient's stem cells.

The first person to receive this transplant was Andemariam Bekele, an Eritrean native with a windpipe tumor, who recovered well.

Christopher Lyles, an American patient, died three months after receiving the same surgery, sparking controversy.

Pierre Delforge, a professor and tracheal surgeon, raised concerns about Macchiarini's work, citing failed animal models.

Karolinska Institute initially ignored warnings about Macchiarini's surgeries, leading to further patient complications.

Carl-Henric Grönmo and colleagues conducted a 400-page investigation into Macchiarini's fraudulent activities.

Macchiarini retaliated against the investigators with rumors and false accusations, including a formal ethical complaint against Grönmo.

Despite allegations, Macchiarini continued to receive media attention and was even profiled by NBC.

The New York Times exposed Macchiarini's research fraud, leading to a significant shift in public perception.

Vanity Fair revealed Macchiarini's personal lies, including a fabricated relationship with the Pope and a sham wedding.

Karolinska's investigation cleared Macchiarini of scientific misconduct charges but fired him due to public outcry.

Whistleblowers like Grönmo faced backlash and professional setbacks for their efforts to expose the truth.

Macchiarini's actions raised questions about the structure and culture of academia, highlighting the need for reform.

The case calls for better protection of whistleblowers and a more critical approach to scientific research and its publication.

Macchiarini's story serves as a cautionary tale about the potential dangers of unchecked ambition and the importance of ethical research practices.

Transcripts

[Music]

my name is Chris sandrich and I have

come here tonight to tell you a story

it's a story about love a story about

lies about deceit and betrayal and a

story about science gone wrong and this

story is about this guy

a man named Paolo McKee irini Macrina

not too long ago was considered one of

the most famous surgeons in the world he

became famous because he developed this

bioengineered trachea lanta transplant

that was grown from patient's own cells

and this was considered a breakthrough

in tissue engineering a lab-grown organ

grown from the patient's own cells so

that there is no risk of immune

rejection except that it was all a lie

but let's start at the beginning McKee

Irini was born in Switzerland but grew

up with his parents in Italy he earned

his medical degree from the University

of Pisa in 1986 and his PhD in France in

1997 in organ and tissue transplantation

he bounced around teaching positions at

universities in Europe for a while but

eventually ended up as a researcher at

the University of Barcelona and that's

really where this story starts because

while he's there he does the first

transplant surgery using a cadaveric

trachea now what that means is he uses a

donor a cadaver donors trachea that's

been decellularized

meaning it's been washed of the original

owners cellular material just leaving

the cartilaginous tissue behind then

it's receded with the recipient

patient's own stem cells isolated from

their bone marrow and then transplanted

back inside and this is the first

patient to receive this surgery this

one's this was considered a major

breakthrough in tissue engineering a

field that for so long since the

discovery of stem cells stem cells

themselves scientists have been trying

to figure out how can we exploit this

property that stem cells have to

differentiate into more specialized cell

types and tissue

structures eventually growing

replaceable tissue and eventually

replaceable organs in the lab this was

called the dawn of the stem cell

revolution first we're doing wind pipes

next it'll be kidneys livers and hearts

the beginning of the end of the organ

donor transplant list so this was a big

deal at the time and it earns him a

position at the Karolinska Institute in

Stockholm Sweden now if you've never

heard of Karolinska it's a it's

considered the top university in sweden

the equivalent of Oxford or Harvard it's

also home to the Nobel assembly the

group of people that awards and chooses

and awards the Nobel Prize in Physiology

and medicine every year it is without a

doubt one of the most important and

prestigious research institutions in the

world and ma curie knee surgery earns

him a position here and it's here where

he takes his research to the next level

instead of using cadaveric tissue which

can vary in different shapes and sizes

he develops a technique to manufacture a

tracheal scaffold from a biodegradable

plastic so first they take cat scans of

the patient and from those scans they

create a 3d model and they fabricate

that model using a porous biodegradable

scaffold and then they seed that model

with the patient's own bone marrow

isolated stem cells they sprinkle in

some growth factors and after a while

you have a transplantable tracheal

tissue transplantable trachea that's

made from the patient's own stem cells

no risk of immunogen and no need to use

expensive and damaging immunosuppressive

drugs this is the first person to

receive this transplant Adi amar iam bei

n he is an Eritrean native but he's

earning his PhD in Iceland and he has

given the sad news that he has a tumor

in his windpipe it

is responding to radiation therapy very

poorly and it's too big to operate on so

he goes to Karolinska and he's the first

person to receive this transplant

mysteriously after the surgery he gets

transferred to a different hospital

where the attending physicians can't

follow up with him but he recovers well

and gets a lot of press coverage this

really elevates mock URIs status in this

field not long after that he performs

the same surgery on another patient an

American man named Christopher Lyles

again very mysteriously he's discharged

early goes back to the US and sadly dies

three months later nonetheless another

article gets written about it mr. Liles

returned home to Maryland in January but

died in March McKee irini said that the

implant had been functioning well

despite that setback which is pretty

generous term in June Matheny performed

similar operations on two patients in

Russia both have been discharged from

the hospital and are doing well he said

and you see this uh over and over again

in the media around this time everyone

just keeps taking him for his word

everyone just hops on the maquis Irini

bandwagon and they're not that critical

about what's really going on and on top

of that he is still doing these

surgeries

not just at narrow lenska but he's

traveling to do them at institutions all

over europe this is the first guy who

really sounds the alarm about machi

greenies work pierre de l'air and he is

a professor at to the University of

Leuven in Belgium he's also a tracheal

surgeon so he's been following the field

very closely for his entire life

and he's especially been following ma

Curie knees work he writes a letter to

the President of the naira lenska

Institute imploring them to stop the

surgeries he cites countless animal

models where similar surgeries have

failed miserably it just doesn't make

sense

that this kind of surgery would fail so

miserably in animal models but would

perform so well in mockery knees

patients he says in the letter we cannot

find one word of evidence that points to

regeneration induced by stem cells and

on a scientific level this makes sense

because synthetic materials alone can't

secrete the necessary signals to get

cells to cooperate with each other and

form a functional unit nonetheless

Karolinska ignores the warning

not too long after this patients start

returning to narrow lenska patients who

had received the transplant and their

conditions are grave this is an image of

a normal windpipe it's clear it's

healthy-looking this is an image of a

ends windpipe a year after his surgery

it is scarred it's infected and it's

clogged with mucus and blood he and

other patients who showed up experienced

the same condition the transplants are

failing collapsing there are holes in

them they're infected a couple of them

have to have to have their Airways

pumped of mucus and blood every three or

four hours it's agonizing and this these

findings were shocking to a handful of

relatively more junior researchers at

narrow lenska namely these four guys and

we'll all take a minute to giggle at the

third guy's name but it's the gentleman

at the very end who I really want to

focus on carl-henric grin mo I want to

focus on him because he's essentially

the ringleader of this group

he spearheads the charge to investigate

mock dharini internally now what's

important to know is that ma curie knee

is kind of a mentor to Grinnell mo he

invites Grinnell mo to be a co-author on

the original Bay n paper the first

transplant using a synthetic windpipe

and when Grinnell learns that ma Curie

invited him to be a co-author he is

thrilled I mean to be a co-author

on a breakthrough paper like this is a

really big deal this can really elevate

your career and Grinnell mo is ecstatic

about it but the findings from Bay n and

other patients were so shocking that

grin mo and his colleagues decide to

launch their own investigation they pour

through metal medical records they

contact the patients families and in the

end they write up a 400-page report

detailing McGary knees fraud and they

submit it to narrow lens cos

administration and this time they didn't

ignore it they retaliated against them

they dragged these guys through the mud

first of all Maki irini finds out that

he's being accused of research fraud and

he spreads rumors around about grinnell

mo he files a formal ethical complaint

against grinnell mo accusing him of

stealing his data which doesn't even

make sense because grinnell mo granado's

field is in a or tak valve regeneration

not tracheal regeneration how can you

have something stolen from you that you

never possessed in the first place

naira lenska pulled promotions that were

promised to these guys and at one point

they filed a police complaint against

them accusing them of violating patient

privacy laws during their investigation

meanwhile Maki irini is having a great

time he is famous NBC does a 2-hour

profile on Maki irini

called a leap of faith the person on the

left

that's Meredith Vieira she's the host of

the show and interviews Maki irini

during the show and profiles his life

his work and all of the patients that

he's saved but later that same year word

gets out that grinnell and his

colleagues are accusing Maki Marini of

research fraud the New York Times gets

wind of it and they publish a story and

this is when the ground really starts to

shake for Karolinska and from

Morini but nothing really happens for

the next year and a half or so the

administration basically just just

points inquiries in two directions that

don't lead anywhere

it's not until 2016 when the house of

cards finally starts to fall down that's

when a Swedish television channel did a

documentary about Maki Hirini exposing

his research fraud the lives that he

took and ruined and the pain of those

patients families and this really sends

Karolinska and Maki dharini scrambling

into damage control mode but oddly

enough this was not the final nail in

the coffin that would be this article

published in Vanity Fair magazine the

celebrity surgeon who used love money

and the Pope to scam an NBC News

producer when Bonita Alexander fell for

celebrated doctor Paulo Macarena while

filming a documentary about him she

thought her biggest problem was a breach

of journalistic ethics then things got

really interesting and they did see

Alexander was a producer for NBC in fact

the same producer that worked with

Meredith Vieira on that NBC profile and

during the filming she developed his

secret romance with Mohini they went on

dinner dates after shoots she fell in

love and they got engaged now

Maki Irini was already a world-renowned

surgeon that he didn't need to make up

what he did make up for some reason was

that he was the personal doctor to the

Pope

not only was he the personal doctor to

the Pope but he was also a member of

this small secret elite group of doctors

that were regularly summoned by world

leaders and dignitaries around the world

he and the Pope were apparently so close

so tight that the Pope agreed to

officiate their wedding there are a

couple of things wrong with this story

one doesn't actually know the Pope -

he's already married

and has been for some time and 3 he

lives with his mistress so and by the

way I mentioned that he claimed to be

part of this secret group of doctors

that knew all these world leaders so

that brings us to the guest list for

this wedding this is this is one of the

invitations that were made up it is

printed on lance kit lamb skinned

sheathed invitation cards and as you can

see it is made out to Barack Obama

president of the United States and

Michelle Obama the First Lady of the

United States he had invitation cards

made up for not just the Obamas but the

Clintons the Sarkozy's Vladimir Putin

Kofi Annan Sir Elton John Russell Crowe

for some reason Kenny Rogers you know

the global elite

[Music]

so how did she finally find out that

machi irini had been lying to her

because a friend of hers sent her a link

to the Pope's schedule which is publicly

available on the Vatican website and

wouldn't you know he's in South America

at the wedding date which I have to

imagine what that conversation was like

hey I was just up checking out the

Vatican website like I usually do and

couldn't help but notice your wedding's

not on the schedule so she confronts him

about this and he's like look the Pope

and I are really tight he's gonna cut

the trip short and he'll be there for

the wedding don't you worry

fortunately she doesn't believe him this

time and hires a private investigator

who finally shows her that indeed he

does not know the Pope and he has a wife

and he lied about everything

she would actually make a documentary

about her experience that was released

last year aptly titled he lied about

everything so it's the Vanity Fair piece

along with the Swedish documentary

exposing mock Dharini that finally

brings him down do you think he got what

he deserved

of course not Karolinska finally

launches their own investigation and

they clear him of scientific misconduct

charges in the report they say that his

handling of this of his patients was a

little sloppy and he is cleared up but

he's cleared of charges anyway there is

a massive public outcry about this in

Sweden people want heads to roll and for

the most part they do the president

resigns the Dean of research multiple

professors and top officials some of

whom are on the Nobel panel eventually

the entire board gets replaced and

mccreaney is just seen as too

radioactive

to keep on the payroll and he is finally

fired and what about these guys do you

think they got the what they deserved no

of course not in the same investigation

launched by Karolinska Grinnell Moe is

found to share the blame with mati irini

because he was a co-author on that

banned paper an authorship that he

gladly accepted because he thought it

would advance his career as for

everybody else including Grinnell Moe

none of them ever got a grant proposal

approved again

they were so poisoned just by their

proximity to the whole affair that they

could not get one Crona of research

funding ever again

not even Thomas [ __ ] sake Irini he

gets kicked out of Karolinska but gets

awarded a grant from the Russian Science

Foundation and takes up a position at

the University of Kazan there he does a

study does the same surgeries on baboons

but I don't think he's there for more

than a year before he's fired by Kazan

in part due to a 57 page petition that's

written to the University of Kazan and

the Russian Science Foundation imploring

them to investigate mock greenies past

and guess who are the authors of that

report it's your boys yeah they may have

had their lives and careers ruined by

mock uranium but they weren't going to

let him do research ever again whether

on humans or primates or anything else

so what's Macarena up to these days well

this was a one of the last TV interviews

he ever did for an Icelandic TV station

this is filmed in 2017 sometime after he

got fired this is towards the end of the

interview he's talking about his baboon

research listen to what he says when the

interviewer asks him what are you doing

these days I asked okay

freelance surgeon has anyone ever heard

of a freelance surgeon that is so

sketchy that sounds like a euphemism for

someone who harvests organs from living

people and actually I wouldn't put it

past him also I like how he says at the

end wherever I can do it I'll do it

for example freelance surgery hotspots

like Turkey and Russia so how did this

happen how is he allowed to get away

with all of this for so long and caused

so much damage well for one there was

some bureaucratic bureaucratic vote

abilities that he exploited so in order

to get an experimental treatment like

this there are a couple of conditions

that need to be met one it has to be a

life or death situation so here in the

US at least and in a lot of other places

if you're a cancer patient and you have

exhausted all approved therapies for

your cancer then you can get approved

for an experimental clinical trial and

take experimental drugs in Sweden this

is called a hospital exemption so you

can get approved for experimental

treatments as long as you have exhausted

every other option on top of that there

need to be animal studies showing that

this treatment works and Maki irini lied

repeatedly and claimed that both

conditions were met in order to get

Hospital exemptions for his patients

second was money and reputation macarena

was bringing in millions in research

funding for Karolinska and they didn't

want to get rid of that also there you

know one of the top medical research

institutions in the world and they

didn't want to be plagued by scandal so

they tried to cover it up on top of that

they were trying to open a campus in

Hong Kong that was being funded by a

wealthy Chinese businessman which itself

is its whole it the whole affair is us

another story

the son of that businessman was awarded

a research grant at Karolinska it was

kind of a quid pro quo thing super

corrupt but finally he was repeatedly

enabled over the course of years not

just by Karolinska but by journals who

published his work without being

critical of it and by the media as well

who published article after article

documentary after documentary claiming

that this was a breakthrough this was

the next revolution and it wasn't so how

can we prevent something like this from

happening again

well for one we need to protect

whistle blowers and that's a hard thing

to do because if you are if you express

concern about one of your superiors for

example and if you're legitimately wrong

that's bad for you and if you're right

it's still bad for you in 2017 Sweden

passed their first whistleblower

protection law second maybe it's time to

have an international regulating body

that keeps an eye on journals and makes

sure that and you know a body that can

detect and penalize journals that that

publish faulty research or you know

penalize scientists that commit research

fraud and look I don't know what that

looks like but there has to be something

better than the decentralized way that

we still do science today and speaking

of how we do science I also think it's

time to have really honest but maybe

difficult discussion about the structure

and the culture in academia one that

thank you one that enables huge power

imbalances where if the lower on the

totem pole you are the more dependent

you are on the people above you for

recommendation letters for endorsements

for authorships there has to be a better

way to do this science is slow and

expensive and that's why we need to be

honest about our work both its successes

and its failures thank you go to nur

tonight calm to find in there night

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