Sholto David
Sholto David is a British molecular biologist and blogger. He is known for identifying flaws in scientific papers.[1][2][3]
He graduated from Newcastle University in 2019 with a PhD in cellular and molecular biology.[4][5] As of October 2024, he has posted entries on over 2,000 flawed scientific studies.[6] Sholto has over 8,000 comments on PubPeer regarding irregularities he discovered in the medical literature as of August 2026.[7]
On 2 January 2024 David made a blog post focused on image irregularities, with 30 papers published by scientists from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, including some by CEO Laurie Glimcher and COO William Hahn.[8] In December 2025, the United States Department of Justice announced that Dana-Farber agreed to pay $15 million to resolve allegations that, between 2014 and 2024, it violated the version of the False Claims Act then in force. As whistleblower, Sholto received 17.5% of the qui tam settlement, $2.6 million. [9]
References
- ↑ Joseph, Andrew (27 January 2024). "From a small town in Wales, a scientific sleuth has shaken Dana-Farber — and elevated the issue of research integrity".
- ↑ "'A lot of it is sloppiness': the biologist who finds flaws in scientific papers | Science | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com.
- ↑ Kluger, Jeffrey (2 May 2024). "Sholto David". TIME.
- ↑ Kluger, Jeffrey (2 May 2024). "Sholto David". TIME. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
- ↑ Richtel, Matt (2 February 2024). "He Hunts Sloppy Scientists. He's Finding Lots of Prey". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
- ↑ Hyneman, Jamie (2 October 2024). "2024 TIME100 Next: Sholto David". TIME.
- ↑ "Search for "Sholto David" or "Mycosphaerella arachidis"". PubPeer.
- ↑ Johnson, Carla (12 March 2024). "Science sleuths using technology to find fakery and plagiarism". The Star-Ledger. pp. U8. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
- ↑ https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/dana-farber-cancer-institute-agrees-pay-15m-settle-fraud-allegations-related-scientific