The Fall of Niels Birbaumer

Neuroskeptic iconNeuroskeptic
By Neuroskeptic
Jul 2, 2019 4:19 AMDec 24, 2019 6:03 AM
Niels Birbaumer - Wyss Center
Niels Birbaumer (Credit: Wyss Center)

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A highly acclaimed neuroscientist whose work offered hope for many patients with brain injury has fallen from grace.

Prof. Niels Birbaumer, of the Eberhard-Karls University of Tübingen in Germany, came under investigation earlier this year. The probe began after researcher Martin Spüler raised serious concerns over a 2017 paper in PLoS Biology by Ujwal Chaudhary et al. Birbaumer was the senior author.

Now, the Eberhard-Karls University of Tübingen has announced that two neuroscientists have been found to have committed misconduct (h/t). The two offenders are not named, but based on the information given, one is clearly Birbaumer, and the other, I think, is Chaudhary.

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