Probe into Chandra research hits roadblock

An agency that oversees medical research in Canada says it cannot complete an investigation into the work of former St. John's researcher Ranjit Chandra.

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) received a complaint about one of Chandra's studies last year.

From June 10, 2004: Questions continue over research claims

The study claimed a combination of vitamins and minerals could significantly improve memory in elderly people.

The CIHR's investigation hit a roadblock when Chandra would not give Memorial University the data he used to reach his conclusions.

"They have tried on numerous occasions to complete the investigation but it [have] been unable to, given the circumstances of not receiving all the raw information, so the investigation is incomplete," says CIHR spokeswoman Janet Weichel-MacKenzie.

Chandra – whose nutritional research attracted international media attention – retired from Memorial University two years ago, and now lives in India and Switzerland.

The scientist who filed the complaint about Chandra's research – which had been published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Nutrition – is displeased with the outcome.

Dr. Seth Roberts, a psychologist at the University of California at Berkeley, analyzed Chandra's study and believes the results were "statistically impossible."

He says Canadian authorities should press on with the investigation, whether Chandra participates or not.

"They seem to be uninterested in the size of the problem," says Roberts.

"That's an important question because … we have to know how badly the system has malfunctioned. Is it just the one paper that we pointed out, or is it 20 or 30 [or] 40?" Roberts says.