[From the article “To catch misconduct, journals are hiring research integrity czars” by Ivan Oransky and Adam Marcus, published at STAT]

“Christopher, an editorial assistant at FEBS — for Federation of European Biochemical Societies — Letters in Heidelberg, Germany, is one of a small but growing number of research integrity czars whom publishers are employing to help police their pages.”

“…Scientific journals’ creation of dedicated positions for rooting out misconduct before publication comes amid growing awareness of such issues, and stems from a recognition that spot-checking and other ad hoc arrangements were insufficient.”

“…In an editorial earlier this year, Christopher recounted the story of a dozen manuscripts she’d reviewed after they raised red flags, revealing ‘serious, systematic and large-scale fabrication of research results.'”

“‘Cases like this confirm yet again the importance and obvious benefits of screening articles before publication,’ she wrote. ‘Our constant vigilance is a service to authors and the wider scientific community.’”

To read the article, click here.