Integrity: What did we learn from Hwang?
So what did the science community learn from the biggest scandal in recent years?
Herbert Gottweis, a political scientist from the University of Vienna, tried to summarize the lessons learned for the attendees in Lisbon. Gottweis arrived in South Korea just 3 weeks before the scandal broke and admits he was as shocked as everyone else by the revelations. He was there to meet the successful star of human embryonic stem cell research for a book he was writing. Instead, he found himself witnessing an unfolding drama.
Gottweis identified five lessons from what he calls Hwang-gate:
1) hyping science can lead to fraudulent behaviour
2) peer review is no substitute for good science governance
3) research integrity is increasingly a matter of the integrity of research networks (including hospitals, ethical review boards, foreign collaborators...)
and on more positive notes:
4) the globalization of science may lead to greater globalization (or harmonization) of research integrity
5) once misconduct is uncovered its important to act quickly and decisively with the right institutions
On this last point Gottweis praised the final report of the committee of the Seoul National University that investigated Hwang. What did the Koreans think of Gottweis' talk? I asked one representative from SNU for her perspective, and she generally welcomed the analysis. It would have been good to hear more from the Korean delegation - there were six of them in Lisbon - but none of them were invited to give presentations. More's the pity.