Haruko Obokata

Haruko Obokata (Japanese: 小保方 晴子, Obokata Haruko, born 1983) is a former stem cell biologist and researcher in Japan, who became widely known for her involvement in a scientific misconduct controversy in 2014. Obokata claimed to have developed a revolutionary method of generating pluripotent stem cells, which she termed Stimulus-Triggered Acquisition of Pluripotency (STAP) cells. However, her research and findings were later discredited due to issues of data manipulation and fabrication, leading to a significant scandal in the scientific community.

Early Life and Education

Haruko Obokata was born in 1983 in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. She pursued her undergraduate studies at the Waseda University in Tokyo, where she majored in Applied Chemistry. Obokata continued her education at the same institution, earning a Ph.D. in Engineering in 2011. Her doctoral thesis, however, would later come under scrutiny for allegations of plagiarism and data falsification.

Career and Research

After completing her Ph.D., Obokata joined the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe, Japan, as a researcher. It was here that she conducted her controversial STAP cell research. In January 2014, Obokata and her colleagues published two papers in the prestigious journal Nature, claiming that they had discovered a simple method to reprogram adult mouse cells to a pluripotent state by subjecting them to various stresses, such as acidic conditions or physical pressure.

Controversy

The STAP cell findings were initially hailed as a groundbreaking advancement in stem cell research, with the potential to revolutionize regenerative medicine. However, soon after publication, other scientists were unable to replicate Obokata's results, leading to skepticism and investigations into the validity of her research.

In April 2014, an investigative committee at RIKEN found evidence of scientific misconduct, including data manipulation and fabrication in Obokata's STAP cell papers. As a result, Nature retracted both papers later that year. The scandal had a profound impact on the scientific community, raising concerns about research integrity and the peer review process.

Following the controversy, Obokata resigned from her position at RIKEN in December 2014. The STAP cell scandal also had wider repercussions, affecting the careers of other researchers involved and leading to a national discussion in Japan about ethical standards in scientific research.

Later Life

After resigning from RIKEN, Obokata has maintained a low profile and has not returned to public scientific research. The STAP cell controversy remains one of the most notable instances of scientific misconduct in the 21st century, serving as a cautionary tale about the pressures and ethical challenges in the competitive field of scientific research.

See Also

• Stem cell controversy
• Scientific misconduct
• Research integrity