Annarosa Leri

Annarosa Leri is an associate professor at Harvard University. Along with Professor Piero Anversa, Leri is engaged in medical research at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School. Since at least 2003 these researchers have been investigating the ability of the heart to regenerate damaged cells using cardiac stem cells.

A paper published in The Lancet in 2011 and another paper published in Circulation in 2012 were acknowledged by Leri and Anversa to have “fictitious data points” and “altered figures.” The 2012 paper was retracted, and the 2011 paper already had an “expression of concern” attached to it by Lancet.

In the spring of 2014 Harvard Medical School and BWH launched an investigation into the conduct of the two researchers. In what is considered an unusual step the pair filed a lawsuit against the hospital and medical school on December 16, 2014. They claimed that the investigation of their findings on stem cells has damaged them and their careers. They assert in their lawsuit that the investigation should be directed at their collaborator, Jan Kajstura, a former associate professor at Harvard Medical School.

They further claim that the investigation into the researchers’ work is itself illegal. The complaint alleges that although there was “substantial evidence” to support the claim that Kajstura acted alone when he committed research misconduct, the inquiry panel still recommended that the investigation continue. The panel argued that “Dr. Anversa should be held responsible of arguably negligent failure to investigate Dr. Kajstura’s research misconduct.” But the complaint asserts that it is against the law to recommend the investigation continue since misconduct, according to federal law, has to be “committed intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly.”