Bharat Aggarwal

Bharat B. Aggarwal
Fields Biochemistry
Institutions MD Anderson Cancer Center
Genentech
Alma mater University of Delhi
Banares Hindu University
University of California, Berkeley

Bharat B. Aggarwal is an Indian-American biochemist. His research has been in the areas of cytokines, the role of inflammation in cancer, and the anti-cancer effects of spices and herbs, particualrly those of curcumin (a chemical constituent of the spice turmeric).[1] He was a professor in the Department of Clinical Immunology, Bioimmunotherapy, and Experimental Therapeutics at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. In 2012, MD Anderson launched a review of Aggarwal’s research after the federal government notified them of allegations of fraud by academic whistle-blowers in as many as 65 published papers, one of which had been retracted by the journal that published it.[2][3][4][5] Several more of Aggarwal's publications were subsequently retracted after they were found to contain data images that had been reused and manipulated to represent different results.[6][7] By August 2016, 18 research articles published by Aggarwal (in 7 scientific journals) had been retracted.[8]

Career

Aggarwal holds a BS from the University of Delhi (1970), an MS from Banares Hindu University (1972) and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley (1977), all in biochemistry. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco and was employed as a scientist at Genentech from 1980 to 1989, where his team characterized the cytokines TNF-alpha and TNF-beta. Aggarwal then served as Chief of the Cytokine Research Section, Department of Clinical Immunology, Bioimmunotherapy, Experimental Therapeutics at MD Anderson Cancer Center from 1989 to 2015.[9][10] He has published over 500 articles and is an ISI Highly Cited Researcher.[11] As of 2016, he had an h-index of 160 and 94,234 citations to 433 articles.[12]

Aggarwal's research has focused on potential anti-cancer properties of herbs and spices, particularly curcumin, found in the spice turmeric.[9][13] In 1996, Aggarwal patented curcumin as an inhibitor of NF-κB activation,[14] and he co-founded a company in 2004 called Curry Pharmaceuticals, based in Research Triangle Park, N.C., which was seeking to develop drugs based on synthetic analogs of curcumin.[9][15]

In 2012, MD Anderson initiated a review of Aggarwal's research after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Research Integrity notified the institution that academic whistleblowers had found evidence of image manipulation in 65 published papers by Aggarwal.[2][3][4][5][16] Aggarwal's lawyer proposed legal action against the blog Retraction Watch in 2013 after they wrote about several of his article corrections and retractions.[17] In February 2016, the journal Biochemical Pharmacology retracted seven research articles with Aggarwal as a co-author, him being senior or first author on six of these.[7] The retraction notices stated this was "because the data integrity has become questionable". In 2016, following an investigation by MD Anderson Cancer Center, the journal Molecular Pharmacology retracted two papers coauthored by Aggarwal, citing “inappropriate” or “unacceptable” image manipulation.[18] All told, 19 of Aggarwal's articles, published in 7 research journals, were ultimately retracted by the publishers.[6][8][16][19][20][21]

MD Anderson Cancer Center confirmed to Retraction Watch that Aggarwal retired from the institute on December 31, 2015.[22] In January 2016, a Times of India article listed Aggarwal as the founder director of the Anti-inflammation Research Institute in San Diego, California.[23] Retraction Watch noted that the institute does not have a functioning website.[24]

Retracted Articles

  1. Biochem Pharmacol. 2007 Apr 1;73(7):1024-32. Retraction in: Biochem Pharmacol. 2016 Feb 15;102:147.
  2. Biochem Pharmacol. 2010 Jan 15; 79(2): 218–228. Retraction in: Biochem Pharmacol. 2016 Feb 15; 102: 145.
  3. Biochem Pharmacol. 2010 Feb 1; 79(3): 330–338. Retraction in: Biochem Pharmacol. 2016 Feb 15; 102: 143.
  4. Biochem Pharmacol. 2010 Jun 1; 79(11): 1640–1647. Retraction in: Biochem Pharmacol. 2016 Feb 15; 102: 146.
  5. Biochem Pharmacol. 2010 Oct 1; 80(7): 1021–1032. Retraction in: Biochem Pharmacol. 2016 Feb 15; 102: 142.
  6. Biochem Pharmacol. 2011 Nov 1; 82(9): 1134–1144. Retraction in: Biochem Pharmacol. 2016 Feb 15; 102: 141.
  7. Biochem Pharmacol. 2011 Dec 15; 82(12): 1901–1909. Retraction in: Biochem Pharmacol. 2016 Feb 15; 102: 144.
  8. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2012 Jan 10. (Epub ahead of print). Withdrawn.
  9. Cancer Lett. 2011 Dec 17. (Epub ahead of print). Withdrawn.
  10. J Biol Chem. 2010 Apr 9; 285(15): 11498–11507. Retraction in: J Biol Chem. 2016 Aug 5; 291(32): 16920.
  11. J Biol Chem. 2010 Aug 27; 285(35): 26987–26997. Retraction in: J Biol Chem. 2016 Aug 5; 291(32): 16921.
  12. J Biol Chem. 2010 Nov 12; 285(46): 35418–35427. Retraction in: J Biol Chem. 2016 Aug 5; 291(32): 16923.
  13. J Biol Chem. 2010 Oct 22; 285(43): 33520–33528. Retraction in: J Biol Chem. 2016 Aug 5; 291(32): 16922.
  14. J Biol Chem. 2011 Jan 14; 286(2): 1134–1146. Retraction in: J Biol Chem. 2016 Aug 5; 291(32): 16925.
  15. J Biol Chem. 2011 Feb 18; 286(7): 5546–5557. Retraction in: J Biol Chem. 2016 Aug 5; 291(32): 16924.
  16. J Biol Chem. 2012 Jan 2; 287(1): 245–256. Retraction in: J Biol Chem. 2016 Aug 5; 291(32): 16926.
  17. Mol Pharmacol. 2008 May; 73(5): 1549–1557. Retraction in: Mol Pharmacol. 2016 Jul; 90(1): 63.
  18. Mol Pharmacol. 2011 Feb; 79(2): 279–289. Retraction in: Mol Pharmacol. 2016 Jul; 90(1): 64.

Most Cited Publications

Books

References

  1. ↑ "Featuring the Special Issue Editor: Dr. Bharat B. Aggarwal" (PDF). Cancer Letters. July 16, 2008. doi:10.1016/j.canlet.2008.05.021. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  2. 1 2 Ackerman, Todd (February 24, 2012). "M.D. Anderson professor under fraud probe". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Prominent Indian-American researcher under probe". Deccan Herald. February 25, 2012. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  4. 1 2 "M.D. Anderson Researcher Probed on Data Manipulation". India-West. February 29, 2012. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  5. 1 2 Raj, Yashwant (March 5, 2012). "India-born scientists caught faking data". Hindustan Times. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  6. 1 2 Grens, Kerry (February 22, 2016). "Author Nets Seven Retractions". The Scientist. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  7. 1 2 Nybo, Kristie (February 24, 2016). "Seven Papers Retracted for Lack of Data Integrity". Biotechniques. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Seven retractions for prominent cancer researcher brings total to 18". Retraction Watch. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 Stix, Gary (February 2007). "Spice Healer". Scientific American. 296: 66–9. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0207-66. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  10. ↑ Gazella, Karolyn A. (December 2009). "Pioneering Biochemist Bharat B. Aggarwal, PhD, of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, on Discovering Novel and Effective Cancer Treatments". Natural Medicine Journal. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Highly Cited Researchers". Thomson Reuters. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  12. ↑ Boyack, K. W.; Klavans, R.; Sorensen, A. A.; Ioannidis, J. P. A. (2013). "A list of highly influential biomedical researchers, 1996-2011". European Journal of Clinical Investigation. 43 (12): 1339–1365. doi:10.1111/eci.12171. PMID 24134636.
  13. ↑ Ackerman, Todd (July 11, 2005). "In cancer fight, a spice brings hope to the table". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Patent number 5,891,924 -- Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) inhibition of NF.kappa.B activation. Inventor: Bharat B. Aggarwal (Houston, TX). Assignee: Research Development Foundation (Carson City, NV)". US Patent Office. September 26, 1996. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  15. ↑ Singh, Seema (September 7, 2007). "From Exotic Spice to Modern Drug?". Cell. 130 (5): 765–768. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2007.08.024. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  16. 1 2 Ackerman, Todd (March 4, 2016). "M.D. Anderson scientist, accused of manipulating data, retires". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  17. ↑ Heisel, William (April 19, 2013). "Doctor Goes After Retraction Watch, Unleashes Streisand Effect". USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism -- Center for Health Journalism. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  18. ↑ Lewis, Tanya (June 22, 2016). "More Retractions for Cancer Researcher". The Scientist. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Retraction notice to "Curcumin potentiates the antitumor effects of gemcitabine in an orthotopic model of human bladder cancer through suppression of proliferative and angiogenic biomarkers" (Biochem. Pharmacol. (2010) 79 (218-228) DOI: 10.1016/j.bcp.2009.". MD Anderson Cancer Center. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Retraction: The Dietary Polyphenols trans-Resveratrol and Curcumin Selectively Bind Human CB1 Cannabinoid Receptors with Nanomolar Affinities and Function as Antagonists/Inverse Agonists". Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Retraction notice to "Curcumin induces the degradation of cyclin E expression through ubiquitin-dependent pathway and up-regulates cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors p21 and p27 in multiple human tumor cell lines" [Biochem. Pharmacol. 73 (2007) 1024–1032].". Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  22. ↑ Oransky, Ivan. "Journal retracts 7 papers by MD Anderson cancer researcher long under investigation". Retraction Watch. Retrieved 2016-02-24.
  23. ↑ "Expert backs three spices in diet to keep cancer away". Times of India. January 30, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  24. ↑ "Author with seven retractions makes Thomson Reuters list of top scientists — plus another twist". Retraction Watch. Retrieved October 6, 2016.

External links

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