SNU to examine Hwang's Work

SNU to examine Hwang's work

Stem-cell pioneer asks university to clear up suspicions

Scientist Hwang Woo-suk yesterday asked Seoul National University to investigate his research to clear new suspicions on fabricated data in his breakthrough stem-cell cloning.

The university convened a meeting of senior officials after Hwang's request and agreed to conduct an inquiry, school officials said. Hwang is a veterinary professor at the university.

"We have decided to re-examine the research because Dr. Hwang himself wants it," Roe Jung-hye, chief of research policy office of the university, told reporters after the meeting. The university will hold a news conference today and announce the schedule and method for the investigation, she added. Hwang is determined to prove the authenticity of his research and wants to return to work as early as possible, said Gyeonggi Province Governor Sohn Hak-kyu after meeting the scientist. Hwang has been treated at the SNU hospital for exhaustion and a stomach ulcer since early last week. Sohn said Hwang is likely to be discharged from the hospital early this week.

Some Korean scientists have called for an investigation since last week on the possible manipulation of pictures and DNA data in his research published in the journal Science in June. Hwang's team announced in the paper that it had successfully produced 11 different stem cells tailored to individual patients, paving the way for future development of therapies for hard-to-cure diseases such as spinal cord injuries, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. His critics say that some photographs of stem cells may have been fabricated and the DNA fingerprints of stem cells are "inexplicable."

On Thursday, 30 junior faculty members of SNU demanded the school conduct an inquiry into possible scientific errors in his work. Experts said eight of a total of 11 images of stem cells, published online by Science as a supplement to the article, may have been copied and manipulated from two stem cells. He also faced questions regarding the similarity of DNA fingerprint traces of human somantic cells and stem cells in the paper. Any DNA fingerprints will differ in their peak's height, alignment and background noise. But experts say several traces in Hwang's paper seem identical, raising suspicion that the traces may have been faked. They even doubted whether cloned stem cells exist. Hwang's team denied such suspicions in a statement issued yesterday. Hwang's team admitted the photos were duplicated but said it was a simple mistake that occurred during publication. The journal also said that the original manuscript reviewed by peer scientists had 11 different photos and the duplicated images were provided by co-author of the article Gerald Schatten of the University of Pittsburgh after a request for high resolution copies. Regarding the DNA fingerprints, Hwang's fellow researchers said some of the traces look similar because they were tested in the same conditions. And they said the peaks of those cells are not identical when they are magnified. Hwang's team said it is ready to disclose all records related to its studies in the course of any investigation. Journal Science reportedly demanded Hwang's team review its data and DNA analysis process. The University of Pittsburgh is also investigating the stem-cell research.

Meanwhile, Hwang's team has made significant progress in its project to treat some incurable diseases in primates during recent experiments, according to an official of the Ministry of Science and Technology. The team successfully injected embryonic stem cells into monkeys suffering from spinal cord injuries and Parkinson's disease and will soon conduct similar clinical testing on humans, the official quoted Ahn Curie, a close associate of Hwang's as saying. The official also said Hwang's team plans to open its research data through the World Stem Cell Hub, launched in Seoul to promote stem cell technology in October. It will provide up to 100 embryonic cells to other researchers to forge international cooperation to advance the bioscience, he said. The statement by Hwang's team came after a local news outlet reported that Hwang himself instructed one of his junior researchers to fabricate stem-cell images.

Kim Seon-jong, Hwang's team member, said Hwang had asked him to make up 11 different stem-cell images out of two cells for publication in Science, according to a transcript of his interview in October with the MBC television network. "I felt burdened because I was not supposed to do that. But I had no choice but to follow (Hwang's) instruction." Kim, a co-author of Hwang's paper, told a producer of "PD Notebook," an investigative news program. The transcript was disclosed by an internet news outlet "Pressian."

"PD Notebook" previously said that it heard crucial statements from Kim about the authenticity of Hwang's work and planned to air a report disputing his work. But the program was suspended after its producers were found to have used coercion and other unethical methods when they interviewed Kim and other members of Hwang's team. Saying he was threatened by Han, Kim later denied the PD Notebook's accusation that he made "crucial statements." The nationally-feted scientist has been under pressure since last month after Schatten severed collaboration with him, citing ethical breaches in the procurement of human eggs in Hwang's research. Hwang admitted on Nov. 24 that he used ova donated by two researchers, an act frowned on by the international scientific community because of the possibility of coercion being used to gain the ova. Hwang went into seclusion since offering to step down from all official positions after apologizing for the ethical irregularities.

(hjjin@heraldm.com)
By Jin Hyun-joo