Tenured Kentucky toxicologist resigns ending years-long misconduct charges drama

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Long-time University of Kentucky researcher resigns the day before Board was to vote on whether to revoke his tenure for research misconduct

A tenured toxicologist and cancer biologist at the University of Kentucky who has worked at the institution for about 15 years, and once served as an associate dean for research in the school’s College of Medicine, has stepped down amid research misconduct allegations that date back several years.

The resignation of Xianglin Shi, who studies metal toxicity and cancer, was effective 15 June – just a day before the university’s Board of Trustees was slated to vote on whether to strip him of tenure and fire him. His departure ends a saga that began in 2018 when the university’s research office was alerted about possible fraud in several papers which Shi was involved in.