The Shanghai-based university said in a statement last Wednesday that the study led by Wang Ping, which claimed that starving cancer cells of valine, a protein-building amino acid found in food, could trigger DNA damage and slow tumor growth, contained problematic data in 14 of its 15 figures, according to the South China Morning Post.

Wang, dean of the School of Life Sciences and Technology, failed to "objectively count" total and damaged cancer cells in 10 figures, while three figures contained duplicated image data and another involved non-standard recording of a mouse’s weight, the university said.

It added that although the data was obtained and processed by team member and first author Jin Jiali, Wang "failed to properly supervise the experimental data and the quality of the paper, and did not fulfil the responsibilities of a corresponding author in ensuring data authenticity and reproducibility."

Tongji, ranked 11th in the Best Universities in China 2026 ranking by Times Higher Education, has removed Wang from his dean position, demoted him by two professional ranks, and barred him for 24 months from promotions, pay raises, research funding applications and awards.

Jin was dismissed from her researcher position at the Institute for Advanced Study.

The university said it would use the case as a lesson to strengthen oversight of research integrity among staff and students and promote a more rigorous academic culture.

The campus of Tongji University in China. Photo courtesy of the university

Born in 1974, Wang is a distinguished professor at Tongji and has led several major state-funded research programs. He has received China’s Distinguished Young Scholars award and the Changjiang Scholar title from the Ministry of Education, among other honors.

He also heads the Laboratory of Tumour Microenvironment, a team of more than 40 researchers studying how cancer cells interact with their surrounding environment, including the immune system and metabolic processes, to drive tumor growth and spread.

According to the laboratory’s webpage, the team has published nearly 50 papers in major scientific journals and recorded more than 2,700 citations.

The case drew public attention on April 13 after a science blogger with 1.8 million followers posted a video accusing the paper of data fabrication.

The blogger pointed to inconsistent number formatting, an unusually high number of values ending in "5," and mouse weight data recorded to two decimal places, which he said was unrealistic for live animals. Prominent Chinese biologist Rao Yi later joined the criticism.

Wang reportedly told Chinese media that the issues resulted from "computer system operating errors" and "misuse of images."

On April 16, Tongji said it had launched an investigation and reaffirmed its "zero tolerance" policy on academic misconduct.