澤田元史（Motoshi Sawada、経歴、不正発覚時 約40歳、現在約49歳、脳神経外科） 松波総合病院脳神経外科部長・脳卒中部門長らの論文2報が改ざんで撤回された。
Motoshi Sawada, Weiyong Sun, Paulette Hayes, Konstantin Leskov, David A Boothman, Shigemi Matsuyama,
"Ku70 suppresses the apoptotic translocation of Bax to mitochondria"
Nature Cell Biol. 5, 320–329 (2003).
Motoshi Sawada, Paulette Hayes Shigemi Matsuyama,
"Cytoprotective membrane-permeable peptides designed from the Bax-binding domain of Ku70"
Nature Cell Biology 5, 352 - 357 (2003)
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We are retracting these papers because they contain a significant number of digital image manipulations in the published figures. An investigation by the Blood Center of Wisconsin, with advice from the US Office of Research Integrity, has implicated only the first author, Dr. Motoshi Sawada, in this deception. The investigation further concluded that Dr. Sawada's intent was to improve the appearance of the figures, rather than to fabricate results that did not exist. This retraction supercedes the previous corrigendum dealing with the first of these papers (Nature Cell Biol. 6, 373–374; 2004). Although original data exist that support the conclusions drawn from each figure, we believe that the number of figures affected by the digital manipulations made by Dr. Sawada means that the appropriate response is to retract these papers at this time.
On behalf of all of the other authors, we wish to state that we have collectively confirmed the reproducibility of the findings reported in these articles. Specifically, these studies have confirmed that: first, Ku70 binds and inhibits Bax activation; second, the Bax binding domain of Ku70 localizes to amino acids 578-583; and third, the penta-peptide derived from the Bax-binding domain of Ku70 is cell permeable and is able to inhibit Bax-induced cell death.
Furthermore, all materials (plasmids, peptides and cells) described in the original papers exist, and we are always ready to send these materials to researchers on request — as we have done over the past four years.
As the conclusions drawn within each of the affected articles have been confirmed to be reproducible, this retraction should not affect the validity of numerous articles published by other groups relating to the subject matter of the two retracted papers.
We apologize to the readers and researchers for any problems caused by the retraction of these papers.
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（撤回公告より）
撤回公告によるとORIの助言を受けたウィスコンシン血液センターの調査で澤田元史の単独犯で、存在しない結果を捏造しようとしたというより図の見栄えをよくしようとした事が判明した。
よく結果に影響がないから研究不正でないという主張を見るが、そうでなくても捏造、改ざんになり得るのは当然。この不正で澤田元史が罰を受けたのか不明。医師としてのキャリアにはあまり影響がないように見える。下川宏明、松口徹也と同様に留学中の論文で改ざんを行って罰を受けても日本に戻ってきたので昇進、採用されたのかもしれない。
ただ、澤田元史は改ざん発覚後はアカポスに就いていない。もともと臨床主体なのだろう。PubMedで「Motoshi Sawada」で検索すると13件ヒットした。もし研究主体なら約49歳で13件しか論文がないのは少なすぎる。
臨床主体の人は研究不正の影響は低いのかもしれない。世界記録捏造の藤井善隆さえ医師を続けているらしい。捏造、改ざんで諭旨解雇になった村山明子（柳澤明子）や懲戒解雇になった上原亜希子も開業医や歯科医師をしている。
今後も不正がないとよい。