The osteoporosis researcher who faked a JAMA study — and got a lifetime funding ban

Sophie Jamal was a rising star in osteoporosis research at the University of Toronto and Women's College Hospital. She was head of endocrinology, director of osteoporosis research, and an associate professor. Her 2011 JAMA study claimed that nitroglycerin ointment could increase bone density in postmenopausal women — a finding that would have been a cheap, accessible alternative to existing osteoporosis drugs.

In 2014, a collaborator named Richard Eastell conducted his own statistical analysis of Jamal's raw data and found no difference between the treatment and placebo groups. The hospital launched an investigation that found Jamal had manipulated data, altered patient records, destroyed a computer, and modified temperature controls to destroy blood and urine specimens. The investigation described it as possibly the 'worst case of research fraud dealt with by the college in its history.'

Jamal resigned in 2015. JAMA retracted the 2011 paper in December 2015. Three more papers were retracted by 2021. In 2016, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research imposed a lifetime funding ban — the first time the agency publicly named a researcher for fraud — and required repayment of a CA$260,000 grant. Her medical license was stripped in 2018, though reinstated in 2020 with conditions limiting her to clinical work only.