Recently, the well-known popular science blogger “Geng Xuexue Storytelling” has been actively reporting multiple renowned scholars at well-known universities for suspected data falsification in their research papers, sparking widespread attention. In the early hours of May 12th, the blogger posted a video accusing Su Jiacan, the dean of the School of Translational Medicine at Shanghai University, of potential data manipulation in his research paper involving arithmetic progressions. Subsequently, the university announced the initiation of an investigation procedure.
Around midnight on May 12th, “Geng Xuexue Storytelling” uploaded a video accompanied by a text stating, “Dean of Shanghai University, main work paper, seriously falsified!”
The research paper under scrutiny is titled “Viral glycoprotein-mimicking PE functionalized micelles promote drug delivery to diseased chondrocytes for osteoarth alleviation,” which was published in February 2026 in the “Nature Nanotechnology” subjournal of “Nature.”
In the video, the blogger asserted that a newly published paper by Su Jiacan, the dean of Shanghai University’s School of Translational Medicine, raised suspicions of data falsification. Pointing out specifics, the blogger stated, “In figure 4c, there are 70 data points, among which 26 end in 5, with no 3s or 7s as the last digit, which is highly improbable.”
On the morning of May 12th, staff at Shanghai University confirmed receiving the related information and indicated that investigations were ongoing, with no definitive conclusions reached yet. “From the current analysis of the article, he (the dean) is the corresponding author.”
According to a report by “Eye on News,” the official website of the School of Translational Medical Research at Shanghai University shows that the paper highlighted by the netizen as the first in the list of representative academic achievements by Dean Su was indeed the one exposed. An article from the school’s public account introduced that at the end of 2025, Professor Su’s team published this research paper, pioneering peptide-modified micelles simulating viral glycoproteins, breaking through the dense cartilage matrix barrier, and achieving precise drug delivery to pathological cells and metabolic remodeling.
In the afternoon of the 12th, reporters from “Eye on News” observed that the school’s public account had removed the promotional material of the mentioned paper. Subsequently, the secretary’s office of the Academic Committee of Shanghai University issued a statement regarding the situation.
The statement indicated that Shanghai University had formed an investigative team and initiated an inquiry process.
Recently, “Geng Xuexue Storytelling” has been actively reporting multiple scholars from prestigious universities for suspected data falsification in their research papers, including deans or “outstanding young scholars” from Tongji University, Nankai University, and Sun Yat-sen University.
On May 7th, Tongji University reported that Wang Ping, the dean of the School of Life Science and Technology, showed negligence in oversight and management of experimental data and research paper quality, resulting in his dismissal and removal of Jin Jiali, the first author of the paper, from the school’s Higher Research Institute employment.