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The Fair Work Commission has rejected an unfair dismissal claim by Dr. Pradeep Tanwar, a prominent former University of Newcastle professor, ruling that his termination for research misconduct was “not harsh, unjust or unreasonable”. [1, 2]
The Misconduct Findings
An investigation by Hunter New England Health revealed widespread ethical and consent violations in a cannabis-based gynaecological cancer research project: [1, 2]
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- Consent Failures: More than 100 patients with ovarian or endometrial cancer had their tissue samples used without signing consent forms.
- Information Withheld: Over 140 patients never received required patient information sheets.
- Retrospective Consent: More than 30 patients were improperly asked to sign consent forms after the fact.
- Animal Testing Disclosures: Patients were never informed that their tissue samples would be grafted onto “xenograft mice”. [1, 2]
Fallout and Research Impact
The research project was a high-profile partnership with ASX-listed hemp grower Ecofibre, which had previously claimed to “completely eradicate” cancer cells under a microscope and had co-filed US patents with the university. [1, 2, 3]
Following the exposure of the misconduct: [1]
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- The Global Centre for Gynaecological Diseases, which Dr. Tanwar directed, has been completely shut down.
- All collected tissue samples and data from the compromised research have been destroyed.
- Associated staff lost their jobs, PhD students had to abandon their projects, and the university was forced to return funding to donors. [1, 2]