David Latchman

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David Seymour Latchman
CBE
Vice-Chancellor of Birkbeck, University of London
In office
1 January 2003 – 31 December 2023
ChancellorAnne, Princess Royal
Preceded bySir Timothy O'Shea (as a Master)
Succeeded bySally Wheeler
Personal details
BornJanuary 1956 (1956-01) (age 68)
London, United Kingdom
Alma materUniversity of Cambridge (BA, PhD)
University of London (DSc)

David Seymour Latchman CBE (born January 1956)[1] is a British geneticist and university administrator. From 2003 to 2023 he has been Vice-Chancellor of Birkbeck, University of London,[2] and since 1999 professor of genetics at University College London.[3]

Early life and education[edit]

Born into a Jewish family,[4] he is nephew and heir to the childless wealthy property developer Maurice Wohl and is chair of the Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation.[5] As a child he attended Haberdashers' Boys' School.[6] Subsequently, in 1978, he obtained Bachelor of Arts in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge. In 1981 he was awarded by University of Cambridge Doctor of Philosophy and in 1993 by University of London, higher doctorate, Doctor of Science.[7]

Career[edit]

Latchman worked in the medical molecular biology unit at University College London (UCL), and at Middlesex School of Medicine.

He has been professor of molecular pathology, and director of the Windeyer Institute of Medical Science, at UCL, and was dean of the Institute for Child Health (1999–2002).[8]

He serves on several committees including London Development Agency (observer status); Universities UK Research Policy Network; National DNA Database Ethics Group; London First (board member).[citation needed][9]

As Master of Birkbeck, he voiced protest at UK government proposals to cut funding for second degrees.[10] Latchman was also a vocal advocate for part time degrees and government support to improve access for adults to higher education.[11]

Latchman was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours for services to higher education.[12]

Beginning in 2014, Latchman’s laboratory at UCL Institute of Child Health came under scrutiny after an anonymous whistleblower alleged that dozens of papers from the lab were doctored.[13] Two screening expert panels in 2014 and 2015 found evidence of research fraud in 14 papers from 1990 to 2013.[14] Even though the two investigations found no evidence that he intended to commit fraud or was aware of the fraud, they found he had been reckless in his running of the lab and co-authoring on the research and upheld an allegation of research misconduct against him.[14] A 2018 disciplinary hearing concluded that there were insufficient grounds for any formal action against him, noting that fraud was difficult to detect and urged senior research leaders to consider when to stop being named authors on papers.[13][14] As of 2020, 6 papers have been retracted and 2 papers have been corrected.[14] Colleagues called for his resignation, but Latchman remained a part-time professor of human genetics at UCL, and master of Birkbeck. He no longer has a lab and has stopped supervising research.[14]

Following his twenty years vice-chancellorship at Birkbeck, in 2024, he assumed the position of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of London, which is federal university consisting of seventeen member universities. As a Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of London, he is responsible for supporting the Board of Trusties of the University of London.[15]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "David Seymour LATCHMAN personal appointments - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  2. ^ "London university's Worcester-born new vice chancellor explores old stomping ground". Worcester News. 9 January 2024. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  3. ^ "The Master". Birkbeck University of London. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  4. ^ William D. Rubinstein, Michael Jolles, Hilary L. Rubinstein, The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History, Palgrave Macmillan (2011), p. 550
  5. ^ "Grapevine: A legacy worth noting". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  6. ^ "About". David Latchman. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  7. ^ "Professor David Latchman CBE, MA PhD DSc FRCPath FRSA | University of London". www.london.ac.uk. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  8. ^ Turner, Camilla (16 May 2018). "Leading university embroiled in major research scandal". The Telegraph.
  9. ^ "The Master – Governance and Committees". Birkbeck, University of London.
  10. ^ David Latchman, 'Want a second degree? It'll certainly cost you...', The Independent, 15 November 2007
  11. ^ Latchman, David (13 December 2018). "The UK government must act to save part-time higher education". Times Higher Education. Retrieved 13 December 2018.
  12. ^ "No. 59446". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 2010. p. 7.
  13. ^ a b Sample, Ian (July 2019). "Research misconduct claim upheld against former head of UCL lab". The Guardian.
  14. ^ a b c d e Sample, Ian (1 February 2020). "Top geneticist 'should resign' over his team's laboratory fraud". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
  15. ^ "Professor David Latchman CBE, MA PhD DSc FRCPath FRSA | University of London". www.london.ac.uk. Retrieved 28 March 2024.

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