Accused PGI prof says others did it too, ETEducation
Chandigarh: A controversy involving “honorary authorship” at the PGI escalated after a professor, accused of co-authoring a scientific paper with her school-going daughter, named five other faculty members for similar practices.
The debate stems from a report by the Times of India in Oct regarding a high-impact meta-analysis published in a well respected journal. Following the report, PGI formed a committee to investigate the inclusion of a student — identified by the professor as being in Class XI at the time of publication — as a co-author.
Sources close to the institute revealed that the paper lists three authors who are from the same family, suggesting a case of ‘honorary authorship’ where credit is given without genuine intellectual contribution. This was first reported by the TOI in October.
In a detailed three-part clarification submitted to the director (a copy of which is with the TOI), the professor defended the publication by citing institutional precedents. She provided a list of eight publications where five senior PGI faculty members allegedly co-authored papers with their children, some of whom were reportedly in school or pursuing MBBS at the time.
“There are several precedents at PGI where senior and respected faculty members have mentored their children… It is from these examples that I have drawn guidance,” the faculty said in her reply. She also argued that her daughter previously co-authored a review in 2023 without any institutional objection, leading her to believe the practice was acceptable.
The accused faculty maintained that the article was a systematic review of existing literature and did not utilise any internal PGI patient data. She asserted that the work adhered to the 2024 ICMR ethical guidelines and that the student’s role in “data extraction and manuscript editing” was disclosed to the journal during submission.
The professor’s defence named several colleagues and their children involved in various research papers and editorials. This included some original works and editorials.
“The institute’s committee is now faced with a widening probe that threatens to expose a systemic practice of academic nepotism,” said a faculty member.
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