Luk Van Parijs was an associate professor of biology in Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Center for Cancer Research. On October 27, 2005, MIT fired Van Parijs for research misconduct after Van Parijs admitted to fabricating and falsifying research data in a published paper, several unpublished manuscripts, and grant applications.

Van Parijs' area of research was in the use of short-interference RNA in studying disease mechanisms, especially in autoimmune diseases. He was studying normal immune cell function and defects in these cells during disease development.

Timeline

• About 1970: Born in Belgium.
• Before 1997: Receives undergraduate education at Cambridge University in England.
• About 1993 - 1997: Works in the laboratory of Dr. Abul Abbas at Brigham and Women's Hospital.
• 1997: Earns doctorate in immunology from Harvard.
• 1998 - 2000: Postdoctoral student in the laboratory of Dr. David Baltimore at Cal Tech.
• 2000: Joins the biology department at MIT.
• 2001: MIT names him the Ivan R. Cottrell Career Development Assistant Professor of Immunology for a three-year term.
• July 2004: MIT promotes him to the rank of associate professor, without tenure.
• August 2004: MIT begins a confidential investigation after a group of researchers in Van Parijs' laboratory reported allegations of research misconduct.
• September 2004: MIT places him on paid administrative leave and revokes his lab access.
• October 27, 2005: MIT fires Van Parijs.

External links

• MIT News Office: MIT professor dismissed for research misconduct
• Google Scholar bibliography of L. Van Parijs' publications
• MIT Center for Cancer Research

American biologists | Scientific misconduct