Charles Piller

Like a literary character, the man whose name winks at medicine writes authoritatively about the pitfalls of research that endanger patients. Highly recommend "Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance, and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimer's" by @charlespiller.bsky.social to all health and science reporters.

Journalist Charles Piller speaking at podium at WCSJ conference in Pretoria.

“If I’m not getting attacked…I would have felt I failed.” @charlespiller.bsky.social at #WCSJ25 on how his work exposing fraud in Alzheimer’s research was attacked and called misinformation and how he responded. “Ignoring scientific misconduct invites public distrust.”

The Trump administration is dismantling efforts to fight the next pandemic A retreat from investments in drugs and vaccines leaves U.S. less prepared for the next viral scourge, experts warn

The Trump administration is dismantling efforts to fight the next pandemic | Science | AAAS by the authoritative @cohenjon.bsky.social www.science.org/content/arti...

AI unreliable in identifying retracted research papers, says study LLMs don’t reliably identify retracted papers, a new study finds. (Image: DALL-E) Large language models should not be used to weed out retracted literature, a study of 21 chatbots concludes. …

AI unreliable in identifying retracted research papers, says study retractionwatch.com/2025/11/19/a...

Are the Deals to Save Research Funding Good for Research? More and more scientists are going back to work after their universities struck unprecedented — some say mistaken — arrangements with the Trump administration.

Are the Deals to Save Research Funding Good for Research? - via @stephaniemlee.bsky.social www.chronicle.com/article/are-...

I'm excited to report that the Financial Times has named my book "Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance, and Tragedy in the Quest to to Cure Alzheimer's" as one of the best books of 2025. www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa...

Computing society pulls works for ‘citation falsification’ months after sleuth is convicted of defamation Solal Pirelli An international computing society has begun retracting conference papers for “citation falsification” only months after the sleuth who flagged the suspect articles was convicted for …

This is pretty astounding. Computing society pulls works for ‘citation falsification’ months after sleuth is convicted of defamation retractionwatch.com/2025/11/17/a...

The Hennepin Healthcare Forced Ketamine Studies, Excited Delirium, and Police Violence In the summer of 2018, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported clinical trials at Hennepin County Medical Center in which emergency medical personnel were injecting agitated individuals with ketamine, ...

Illuminating analysis of Forced Ketamine Studies, Excited Delirium, and Police Violence by @carlelliott.bsky.social and Lauren Wilson onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Competition @kaggle.com: Scientific Image Forgery Detection

Who can develop the best model to detect copy/move forgeries in biomedical images?

#ImageForensics

www.kaggle.com/competitions...

Letters to scientific journals surge as ‘prolific debutante’ authors likely use AI New study reinforces worries about “mass production of junk” by unscrupulous scholars aiming to pad their CVs

Letters to scientific journals surge as ‘prolific debutante’ authors likely use AI | Science | AAAS - fascinating report by @jeffreybrainard.bsky.social www.science.org/content/arti...

Thanks to @fredchedin.bsky.social, Dean Mark Winey, and the UC Davis College of Biological Sciences for inviting me to give the Storer Lecture on Oct 23: “Misconduct in Neuroscience Research: Problems and Solutions.” The video is now available
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCPM...

Guest Post — Replacing Public Doubt with Public Confidence: Experiments in Building Trust at Science - The Scholarly Kitchen Today's guest post is by Meagan Phelan of AAAS, who asks: If more research is openly available than ever before, and open is framed as a way to build trust, why isn’t public trust in science at an all...

Replacing Public Doubt with Public Confidence: Experiments in Building Trust at Science, via @meagan-g-phelan.bsky.social scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2025/10/23/g...

We've added three FREE ##SciWri25 Lunch and Learns:

▶️Medical science reporting, w/ Cohn Prize winners @charlespiller.bsky.social & Marilynn Marchione
▶️Funding science journalism at scale
▶️Technological progress & research

Registration is required and spots are limited. Sign up by noon ET Monday!

Exclusive: Journal to retract Alzheimer’s study after investigation finds misconduct A journal says it will retract a 2019 paper on an Alzheimer’s treatment after an institutional investigation found research misconduct, according to emails seen by Retraction Watch. The move …

Exclusive from @retractionwatch.com : Journal to retract Alzheimer's study after investigation finds misconduct -- follows findings by @thatsregrettab1.bsky.social retractionwatch.com/2025/10/20/e...

How an FDA cleared “brain protection” device built on shaky science made it to the NFL It’s time for the FDA to re-evaluate its decision to authorise Q-Collar, say James Smoliga and Mu Yang A wearable “brain protection” device known as the Q-Collar, which sells for $199 (£149; €170), ...

How an FDA cleared “brain protection” device built on shaky science made it to the NFL - fascinating deep dive by @jsmoliga.bsky.social @mumumouse2.bsky.social www.bmj.com/content/391/...

On an Arctic archipelago, frozen soil may preserve a hidden history of viruses Scientists are hunting for ancient RNA in Svalbard’s permafrost, hoping to shed light on the evolution of viral diseases

On an Arctic archipelago, frozen soil may preserve a hidden history of viruses | Science | AAAS - fascinating journey via @kakape.bsky.social www.science.org/content/arti...

As his fraud trial looms, Alzheimer’s scientist exonerated by his university—sort of Excusing record-keeping “misconduct” flagged in earlier investigative report, City University of New York concluded in letter that image doctoring by Hoau-Yan Wang was not proved

As his fraud trial looms, Alzheimer’s scientist exonerated by his university—sort of - CUNY's puzzling analysis of a collaborator of Cassava Sciences www.science.org/content/arti...

Storer Lectureship - Misconduct in Neuroscience Research: Problems and Solutions Charles Piller writes investigative stories for Science.

Northern Californians: I’ll be giving the Storer Lecture at UC Davis on Oct. 23, at 4pm. It will cover my investigative findings in Science and my in book “Doctored” about Alzheimer’s research misconduct. I’d be delighted to see you in person or via zoom. biology.ucdavis.edu/events/store...

How Private Equity Oversees the Ethics of Drug Research

Compelling look at private equity and IRBs - the panels that approve and oversee human testing of drugs www.nytimes.com/2025/10/04/h...

Thanks Jessie -- and thanks for your longstanding support and help!

I’m equally grateful for the determined and courageous image sleuths who provided key findings for my major stories – particularly Matthew chrag @elisabethbik.bsky.social @thatsregrettab1.bsky.social @mumumouse2.bsky.social
7/7

I’ve been fortunate that Holden Thorp, Editor-in-Chief of the Science family of journals, provides steadfast support for my journalism, and that of my Science colleagues. 6/7

This work would have been impossible without the skill and encouragement of my editors – Tim Appenzeller, @john-travis.bsky.social @kellyservick.bsky.social
– and others on the talented Science staff. 5/7

I’m gratified that @sciencewriters.org and the judges–leaders in science and medical writing–agree that journalists must speak hard truths about research to benefit patients and foster progress, even amid the sabotage of scientific institutions by federal officials. 4/7

The prize was not for my book, “Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance, and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimer’s,” but recognizes key stories that helped frame that larger narrative. My goal: Help readers see that the process of discovery, which I revere, depends on honest science. 3/7

It’s humbling to follow the illustrious journalists who have won in past years. Many of my articles exposed and helped correct misconduct in research associated with Alzheimer’s disease. 2/7

I’m deeply honored to have been named as the recipient of the Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting from the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing. It recognizes my work on scientific integrity for Science Magazine over the last five years. 1/7 tinyurl.com/zz54fzyr

Whose papers have an edge at Science? In unusual study, journal looks in the mirror Confidential data show being in the U.S., at a prestigious institution, and in a large team all may help

Whose papers have an edge at Science? In unusual study, journal looks in the mirror | Science | AAAS via @jeffreybrainard.bsky.social www.science.org/content/arti...

(PDF) A Catalyst for Urgent Dialogue and Reform PDF | Book Review of C. Piller (2025). Doctored. Fraud, Arrogance, and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimer’s, Atria, One Signal Publishers, New York,... | Find, read and cite all the research you n...

Scientific fraud and research misconduct are not only the result of personal ambition but also of endemic and systemic causes: See my review of @charlespiller.bsky.social “Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance, and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimer’s.”
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
🧪 #AcademicSky

Exclusive: Publisher investigating DNA contamination paper that authors say CDC vaccine committee will consider - re amazing detective work by @thatsregrettab1.bsky.social retractionwatch.com/2025/09/18/c...