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Credit: NIH
An author of the retracted Nature papers on STAP cells (stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency cells) has committed suicide at the age of 52.
Yoshiki Sasai, MD, PhD, was found dead at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe, Japan, where he was deputy director.
Dr Sasai reportedly hanged himself and left several suicide notes.
Members of the scientific community have expressed shock and sadness upon learning of Dr Sasai’s death.
RIKEN President Ryoji Noyori, PhD, said he was “overcome with grief” when he heard the unfortunate news.
“The scientific world has lost a talented and dedicated researcher, who earned our deep respect for the advanced research he carried out over many years,” Dr Noyori said.
Nature’s editor-in-chief, Phil Campbell, PhD, echoed that sentiment, saying, “Yoshiki Sasai was an exceptional scientist, and he has left an extraordinary legacy of pioneering work across many fields within stem cell and developmental biology.”
Dr Sasai was a respected expert on embryonic stem cells, but the STAP cell scandal damaged his reputation and reportedly took a toll on his health. According to a spokesperson at RIKEN, Dr Sasai was hospitalized for stress and required counseling in the wake of the scandal.
Dr Sasai had worked closely with the lead author of the STAP cell papers, Haruko Obokata, PhD, although he said his main duty was editing the papers.
The papers, an article and a letter, were published in Nature in January. They recounted the creation of STAP cells—inducing pluripotency in somatic cells by exposing them to a low-pH environment.
Not long after the papers were published, members of the scientific community began to question the validity of the research. They voiced concerns about published images, possible plagiarism, and an inability to replicate the experiments described.
So RIKEN launched an investigation. In April, the investigative committee concluded that Dr Obokata was guilty of research misconduct, while Dr Sasai and another author from RIKEN, Teruhiko Wakayama, PhD, were guilty of negligence.
RIKEN also said the researchers would be disciplined, although details were not released.
At a subsequent news conference, Dr Sasai said the Nature papers should be retracted because of the errors and inconsistencies, but the data do indicate the STAP cell phenomenon is real.
Likewise, Dr Obokata insisted the phenomenon is real and appealed the findings of RIKEN’s investigation. But RIKEN said another investigation was not warranted and called for a retraction of the papers. In July, Nature published retractions.
A RIKEN group is still attempting to recreate the STAP cell phenomenon, with Dr Obokata’s help. RIKEN plans to release an interim report on this attempt soon.
Other researchers said they have tried and failed to replicate the STAP cell experiments. One group reported their failed attempt in F1000Research. 
Credit: NIH
An author of the retracted Nature papers on STAP cells (stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency cells) has committed suicide at the age of 52.
Yoshiki Sasai, MD, PhD, was found dead at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe, Japan, where he was deputy director.
Dr Sasai reportedly hanged himself and left several suicide notes.
Members of the scientific community have expressed shock and sadness upon learning of Dr Sasai’s death.
RIKEN President Ryoji Noyori, PhD, said he was “overcome with grief” when he heard the unfortunate news.
“The scientific world has lost a talented and dedicated researcher, who earned our deep respect for the advanced research he carried out over many years,” Dr Noyori said.
Nature’s editor-in-chief, Phil Campbell, PhD, echoed that sentiment, saying, “Yoshiki Sasai was an exceptional scientist, and he has left an extraordinary legacy of pioneering work across many fields within stem cell and developmental biology.”
Dr Sasai was a respected expert on embryonic stem cells, but the STAP cell scandal damaged his reputation and reportedly took a toll on his health. According to a spokesperson at RIKEN, Dr Sasai was hospitalized for stress and required counseling in the wake of the scandal.
Dr Sasai had worked closely with the lead author of the STAP cell papers, Haruko Obokata, PhD, although he said his main duty was editing the papers.
The papers, an article and a letter, were published in Nature in January. They recounted the creation of STAP cells—inducing pluripotency in somatic cells by exposing them to a low-pH environment.
Not long after the papers were published, members of the scientific community began to question the validity of the research. They voiced concerns about published images, possible plagiarism, and an inability to replicate the experiments described.
So RIKEN launched an investigation. In April, the investigative committee concluded that Dr Obokata was guilty of research misconduct, while Dr Sasai and another author from RIKEN, Teruhiko Wakayama, PhD, were guilty of negligence.
RIKEN also said the researchers would be disciplined, although details were not released.
At a subsequent news conference, Dr Sasai said the Nature papers should be retracted because of the errors and inconsistencies, but the data do indicate the STAP cell phenomenon is real.
Likewise, Dr Obokata insisted the phenomenon is real and appealed the findings of RIKEN’s investigation. But RIKEN said another investigation was not warranted and called for a retraction of the papers. In July, Nature published retractions.
A RIKEN group is still attempting to recreate the STAP cell phenomenon, with Dr Obokata’s help. RIKEN plans to release an interim report on this attempt soon.
Other researchers said they have tried and failed to replicate the STAP cell experiments. One group reported their failed attempt in F1000Research.
Credit: NIH
An author of the retracted Nature papers on STAP cells (stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency cells) has committed suicide at the age of 52.
Yoshiki Sasai, MD, PhD, was found dead at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe, Japan, where he was deputy director.
Dr Sasai reportedly hanged himself and left several suicide notes.
Members of the scientific community have expressed shock and sadness upon learning of Dr Sasai’s death.
RIKEN President Ryoji Noyori, PhD, said he was “overcome with grief” when he heard the unfortunate news.
“The scientific world has lost a talented and dedicated researcher, who earned our deep respect for the advanced research he carried out over many years,” Dr Noyori said.
Nature’s editor-in-chief, Phil Campbell, PhD, echoed that sentiment, saying, “Yoshiki Sasai was an exceptional scientist, and he has left an extraordinary legacy of pioneering work across many fields within stem cell and developmental biology.”
Dr Sasai was a respected expert on embryonic stem cells, but the STAP cell scandal damaged his reputation and reportedly took a toll on his health. According to a spokesperson at RIKEN, Dr Sasai was hospitalized for stress and required counseling in the wake of the scandal.
Dr Sasai had worked closely with the lead author of the STAP cell papers, Haruko Obokata, PhD, although he said his main duty was editing the papers.
The papers, an article and a letter, were published in Nature in January. They recounted the creation of STAP cells—inducing pluripotency in somatic cells by exposing them to a low-pH environment.
Not long after the papers were published, members of the scientific community began to question the validity of the research. They voiced concerns about published images, possible plagiarism, and an inability to replicate the experiments described.
So RIKEN launched an investigation. In April, the investigative committee concluded that Dr Obokata was guilty of research misconduct, while Dr Sasai and another author from RIKEN, Teruhiko Wakayama, PhD, were guilty of negligence.
RIKEN also said the researchers would be disciplined, although details were not released.
At a subsequent news conference, Dr Sasai said the Nature papers should be retracted because of the errors and inconsistencies, but the data do indicate the STAP cell phenomenon is real.
Likewise, Dr Obokata insisted the phenomenon is real and appealed the findings of RIKEN’s investigation. But RIKEN said another investigation was not warranted and called for a retraction of the papers. In July, Nature published retractions.
A RIKEN group is still attempting to recreate the STAP cell phenomenon, with Dr Obokata’s help. RIKEN plans to release an interim report on this attempt soon.
Other researchers said they have tried and failed to replicate the STAP cell experiments. One group reported their failed attempt in F1000Research.