Graduate Student Seminar
January 23, 2026
10:00 a.m. ET
CUC McConomy Auditorium
Retractions: On The Rise, But Not Enough
In 2000, there were about 40 retractions from the scholarly literature. In 2023, there were more than 10,000. That is a dramatic increase, even accounting for the growing number of papers published yearly. In this talk, I will explore the reasons for the increase, why it is good news, and why the actual number should be even higher. I will tell the stories of the sleuths who are finding problems in the literature, drawing on 15 years of experience at Retraction Watch. And I will argue that while these issues may be difficult to talk about, particularly as academia and scientific research comes under attack, now is not the time to fade into the shrubbery.
Ivan Oransky
Co-Founder, Retraction Watch
Ivan Oransky, MD, is co-founder of Retraction Watch and executive director of its parent nonprofit, The Center For Scientific Integrity. He is also editor in chief of The Transmitter and distinguished journalist in residence at New York University's Arthur Carter Journalism Institute. Ivan previously was president of the Association of Health Care Journalists and vice president of editorial at Medscape. He has also held editorial leadership positions at MedPage Today, Reuters Health, Scientific American and The Scientist. He has received numerous awards for his work, including the 2015 John P. McGovern Medal for excellence in biomedical communication from the American Medical Writers Association, and in 2020 the Council of Science Editors gave Retraction Watch the Award for Meritorious Achievement, their highest honor.