Olivier Voinnet

Olivier Voinnet is a professor of RNA biology at the ETH Zurich.^[1][2] Voinnet obtained his PhD in 2001 in England in the group of David Baulcombe and later obtained a position as independent group leader at the CNRS in Strasbourg where he was promoted to Directeur de Recherche in 2005. In 2010, he moved to ETH Zurich where he was appointed full professor of RNA Biology.^[1]

He was awarded the EMBO Gold Medal in the year 2009^[3] but it was taken back in 2016.^[4]

At 2015, his work was investigated for manipulation.^[5] The investigation at ETH Zurich found that the scientist “breached his duty of care in the handling of figures as well as in his supervisory duties as a research director... and will receive an admonition in relation to his conduct” but also concluded that "this is not a case of scientific misconduct as defined in ETH Zurich’s Rules of Procedure".^[6] Another, independent, investigation by CNRS established “the existence of deliberate chart/diagram manipulations, in breach of the ethical standards applicable to the presentation of scientific results” and went on to say that such ”inappropriate presentation of experimental data, however, does not amount to fabrication.”^[7]

As of July 2015, Mr Voinnet has been suspended from the CNRS (The French National Centre for Scientific Research) for 2 years.^[8][9]

References