Below is a collection of references to everything you might want to know about Dr. R. K. Chandra, a Canadian researcher whose 1989 paper, Influence of maternal diet during lactation and use of formula feeds on development of atopic eczema in high risk infants, was retracted by the BMJ yesterday. It was originally published by the British Medical Journal on July 22, 1989. It appears that this paper and many others written by Dr. Chandra are simply fabrications – reports on studies that were never done at all. And some had co-authors who were unaware that the trials had never even taken place.
Why would you want to spend your time reading about this? We talk here a lot about studies that have been "spun" – subtly twisted to accentuate efficacy or downplay toxicity. Why bother to read about a case where the whole thing is simply made up? An outright lie? I think it might be worth your while to see how the various institutions failed to act, passed the buck, dropped the ball. Those things are most easily seen in the videos of the CBC television’s investigation below. Pay particular attention to the university officials. It took a media expose and a court decision to get this story out…
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CBC NewsOct 28, 2015
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Retraction Watchby Shannon PalusOctober 28, 2015
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by Caroline White.British Medical Journal. 2015 351:h5683.
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by Richard Smith, former editor in chief, and Fiona Godlee, editor in chiefBritish Medical Journal. 2015 351:h5694.
Why am I having a déja vu experience? LOL. His Web page reminds me of some academics’ CVs, displaying insecure narcissism, overcompensated by grandiose yet amateurish claims of relevance.
A creative endeavor with a purpose:
http://www.bmj.com/content/351/bmj.h5683?ijkey=2ea0266736c567ef0e76b95423d101938ae82943&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha
“….He had also amassed around $2m (£1.3m; €1.8m), stashed away in what was described as a “labyrinth of bank accounts and financial transactions” by Justice Wells in his judgment during Chandra’s protracted divorce trial in 2000.
The judge doubted that these large sums, which included deposits in offshore accounts, could have come from teaching and medical practice income, or canny investments.
Chandra kept no formal accounts and claimed that the funds were held in trust for research purposes, including for the International Nutritional Immunology Foundation. This was incorporated in 1997 and registered at Chandra’s home address in St John’s. It was subsequently voluntarily dissolved in 2006. But these funds were held in 22 joint accounts in Chandra’s and his children’s names….”