Silvia Bulfone-Paus
Italian immunologist
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Silvia Bulfone-Paus (born Silvia Bulfone) is an Italian immunologist. She is the chair of the Research Center Borstel's Department of Immunology and Cell Biology[1][2] and also serves as professor of Immunobiology at the University of Manchester School of Medicine.[1]
Her lab at Research Center Borstel was downsized in 2010 after several investigations into scientific misconduct at her lab.[3] Thirteen papers that she authored were retracted as a result of those investigations.[4]
Career
Bulfone-Paus specializes her research in the biology of the immune response, especially cytokines and mast cells.[1] Mast cells secrete a substance known as histamine, which produces inflammation.[5] Cytokines are small molecules made of amino acids.[6] These cell-signaling molecules play a role in the immune response and include interferons and interleukins.[6]
Scientific misconduct investigations
After charges of scientific misconduct in Bulfone-Paus's immunology department, an external investigation was launched July 2010.[7] Anonymous whistleblower(s) began a campaign against Bulfone-Paus and her husband, emailing the investigators, other scientists, and politicians, alerting them to instances of fraud in Bulfone-Paus’ laboratory.[7][8]
The investigation committee found that two former post-doctoral students in the lab were guilty of using pictures from unrelated experiments to support their findings in six papers written between 2001 and 2009.[7] Bulfone-Paus was listed as either the senior or corresponding author on all six of the publications.[7] The committee found that Bulfone-Paus bore "substantial responsibility" for the manipulations as their supervisor.[7]
The Research Centre Borstel believed a more extensive investigation was warranted and commenced its own internal investigation.[7] In December 2010, officials at the research center made it known they were asking for the retraction of six further papers, written between 1999 and 2005, all authored or co-authored by Silvia Bulfone-Paus.[9][10] In response to the findings of their investigation, the Research Centre Borstel downsized Bulfone-Paus’ laboratory and decreased the funding of the lab.[3]
In June 2010, the University of Lübeck, in Germany, began investigations into six papers authored by Bulfone-Paus’ husband, Ralf Paus.[3] Of the six articles in question, Bulfone-Paus was listed as co-author on five of them.[3] Neither of the post-doctoral students were listed as co-authors.[3]
In December 2010, the journal Transplantation stated they were retracting another of Bulfone-Paus’ papers.[11][12] The article, published in 2000, was retracted because of “inaccurate information” for two figures contained in the paper.[12] The post-doctoral students were not listed as contributing authors.[12]
In December 2012, Germany's main research funding agency DFG completed its investigation into Bulfone-Paus’ laboratory and found that Bulfone-Paus was grossly negligent in her supervision and retroactively sanctioned her from applying for funding for three years.[13]
Personal life
Bulfone-Paus is married to Ralf Paus, a professor in Dermatology at the University of Münster in Germany.[14] Paus also holds a position as Professor of Cutaneous Medicine at the University of Manchester.[14] Bulfone-Paus and Paus have three children.[14]