Professor McLachlan’s fraud

McLachlan contacted the Jerusalem International Conference on Integrative Medicine asking to present his research findings.1 He attached 11 impressive pages with his publication record, list of grants, and 70 scientific conferences he had lectured at. When a researcher of such status asks to present his work no one will refuse him, and he was offered 15 minutes for his presentation (flight and accommodation were not included).

McLachlan lied about research he never did and results he never got. But who would inquire into the credibility of someone who is professor, associate dean of medicine, and member of the school of medicine and health at Durham University, or doubt his written declaration that he conducted research?

No scientific committee in the world can be a perfect barrier for deceitful intentions. The main way to prevent deception is public exposure: anyone who claims research findings must publish them, and it is only a question of time until frauds will be uncovered.

This is why McLachlan immediately broke off contact with the conference organisers once asked to confirm his arrival. Confirming his participation would have led to the preliminary publication of his abstract, and Jerusalem would probably have been the last conference in the world at which he could have lectured.

If I were an academic member of Durham University, I would be concerned that a researcher on my campus had written to a scientific committee about research he never did and results he never got, while signing with his campus’s official title. On reflection, researchers around the world should be concerned by this phenomenon.