BRI lecture series concludes with presentation by science editor Michael Rossner Aug. 23 in Pelton

Brief

The Center and University of Washington's collaborative Biomedical Research Integrity (BRI) lecture series concludes Wednesday, Aug. 23, at 3 p.m. in Pelton Auditorium, with a presentation by Dr. Michael Rossner, managing editor, Journal of Cell Biology. The lecture, "What's in a Picture? The Temptation of Image Manipulation," focuses on research misconduct.

A graduate of Princeton's Department of Molecular Biology, Rossner received a doctorate in molecular biology at Edinburgh University with Dr. Kenneth Murray. From Edinburgh, he went to Melbourne, Australia for a postdoc in the Cancer Research Unit at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute. Nine years ago, after serving as an editor of Current Biology's publication Chemistry & Biology in San Francisco, Rossner assumed his current position in New York. Nearly four years ago, while working with an electronic file of a gel image, Rossner noticed a gross manipulation of the image that affected the interpretation of the data. This led him to initiate a policy of examining all figures of all accepted manuscripts for evidence of manipulation.

"The ease of image manipulation in powerful applications like Photoshop makes it tempting to adjust or modify digital image files," Rossner said. "We have developed guidelines to define the boundaries between acceptable and unacceptable manipulation. These guidelines will be presented, along with examples from actual cases."

Rossner's lecture is open to all faculty and staff. Postdoctoral fellows and graduate students who attend earn credit toward the Center's research-ethics education program requirement. All Center postdoctoral fellow and graduate students are required to attend one faculty-led discussion group.

To register for a BRI case-study group, contact Lora Lindsey, llindsey@fhcrc.org, (206) 667-6109. For general information, contact Lee Strucker, (206) 667-1247, lstrucke@fhcrc.org.

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