Questions continue over research claims

The editors of two medical journals are calling for an investigation into the entire body of work of Ranjit Chandra, who for 27 years was a professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Chandra came to Memorial as a researcher in pediatrics and later expanded his work into the effects of multivitamins on the elderly.

Scientific journals in the United States and England have been raising questions about that geriatric research.

In one study, he claimed a specific combination of vitamins and minerals significantly improved seniors' ability to think and reason.

Scientists who have raised doubts about the validity of that research believe his results were unusually good. Chandra, who now lives in India, has been asked to produce his raw data, but so far he hasn't.

Queries after publication

Nutrition, a journal based in Syracuse, N.Y., published Chandra's work three years ago. His research was reviewed by three scientific peers, but after it was published, other scientists raised questions about the data and findings.

Editor Michael Meguid, a professor of neuroscience and vice chair of surgical research at Upstate University, says there's no way to make Chandra comply with requests for information.

"There are regulatory bodies for that, but they do not cross borders," Meguid says. "That is, I think, where the regulatory part of science has fallen behind the advancement of science.

Chandra happy with outcome

Chandra has turned down recent interview requests from the CBC, but last December he dismissed the concerns.

"I feel quite happy with the design of the study, the way it was analysed and reported," he said.

Meguid says Memorial University needs to lead a thorough investigation into all of Chandra's work.

"They cannot separate themselves," he says "This is where it occurred, so the university is part and parcel of that."

From Dec. 16, 2003: Not avoiding questions: retired researcher

John Strawbridge, Memorial's director of faculty relations, says the recent accusations merit a thorough investigation, but he doesn't think the university should conduct it.

John Strawbridge

He says the scientific journals that published Chandra's studies should do the reviews.

"It's up to each journal in which he's published to examine what he's published in their journal," Strawbridge says. "The university is not a watchdog – we are an enabler – and we've done our job, I think."

Chandra also submitted his study on cognition to the British Medical Journal, which refused to publish it.

Editor Richard Smith says all of Chandra's work needs to be investigated, but Memorial University may not be the one to do it

"In some ways there's a fundamental conflict of interest – that you would rather not discover that one of your employees had been involved in misconduct – which is one of the arguments for having some kind of national body where there isn't the same kind of conflict."

A spokesperson for the Canadian Institute of Health Research, a federal government funding agency, says it is reviewing Chandra's work to see whether it should take any action.

Chandra says he is aware of two other studies that have confirmed his results, but "I don't think it will be good for me to tell you their names until the paper is published."