Instances of Scientific Misconduct | Gregg L. Semenza

Gregg L. Semenza

Gregg L. Semenza, a 2019 Nobel Prize winner in Physiology or Medicine and professor at Johns Hopkins University, has faced significant controversy for scientific misconduct. He has had at least 13 papers retracted due to image duplication and manipulation, the highest number for any Nobel laureate. The retractions span major journals such as Cancer Research, PNAS, Oncogene, and Journal of Biological Chemistry, with several citing an institutional review by Johns Hopkins University. In some cases, it was noted that the scientific conclusions would not have changed without the duplicate images, suggesting the errors were methodological rather than conceptual. However, increased attention to Semenza’s work following his Nobel Prize played a key role in uncovering these issues. Semenza, who specializes in how cells adapt to low-oxygen environments, often requested or agreed to the retractions himself. 

Articles by Nobel Prize winner retracted (PesquisaFapesp, October 2022)

Gregg L. Semenza (The Nobel Prize, 2019) 

Gregg L. Semenza, MD, PhD (Johns Hopkins Medicine, Accessed October 16, 2025) 

Gregg L. Semenza’s retractions (Lior Pachter, May 25, 2023)

HIF-1-dependent expression of angiopoietin-like 4 and L1CAM mediates vascular metastasis of hypoxic breast cancer cells to the lungs (PubPeer, June 2015)

Nobel Prize Winner Faces Investigation into Paper Integrity (The Scientist, October 21, 2022)

Nobel Prize winner Gregg Semenza retracts another study (Chemical and Engineering News, June 12, 2023) 

Nobel Prize winner Gregg Semenza tallies tenth retraction (Retraction Watch, October 2, 2023)

Nobel prize-winner tallies two more retractions, bringing total to 13 (Retraction Watch, September 13, 2024)

PAPERS CO-AUTHORED BY NOBEL LAUREATE RAISE CONCERNS (Nature, November 3, 2022)

RETRACTED: PHGDH Expression Is Required for Mitochondrial Redox Homeostasis, Breast Cancer Stem Cell Maintenance, and Lung Metastasis (American Association for Cancer Research, August 1, 2016)

Retraction for Wei et al., Endothelial expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 protects the murine heart and aorta from pressure overload by suppression of TGF-β signaling (PNAS, February 26, 2024)

Retraction: Hypoxia-inducible factors are required for chemotherapy resistance of breast cancer stem cells (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (2014) 111 (E5429-E5438) DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1421438111) (Johns Hopkins University, September 20, 2022) 

Retraction: Procollagen Lysyl Hydroxylase 2 Is Essential for Hypoxia-Induced Breast Cancer Metastasis (PubMed Central, October 2, 2023)