STOCKHOLM, Feb. 10(Greenpost)–The Karolinska Institutet University Board (Konsistoriet) has appointed the lawyer who will be conducting the external investigation into KI’s handling of the “Macchiarini case”, according to a press release from KI.
The lawyer has appointed two others to assist him in his work.
The external investigator is the former president and justice of the Supreme Administrative Court of Sweden Sten Heckscher.
Heckscher is 73 years old, and has been president of the Administrative Court of Appeal in Stockholm, national police commissioner, general director of the Swedish Patent and Registration Office, under-secretary of state in the Ministry of Justice and minister of Industry and Employment. He also chaired the board of Stockholm University for nine years.
Sten Heckscher has appointed two people to assist him in the investigation. They are: Author Ingrid Carlberg and Professor Carl Gahmberg.
Carlberg is 54 years old and a former journalist of 20 years standing at Dagens Nyheter. She has published several books, including “Pillret” (an account of the pharmaceutical industry, 2008) and “Det står ett rum här och väntar på dig…” (a biography of Raoul Wallenberg, 2012). She has won the August Prize and the Guldspaden award, Sweden’s most respected journalism prize. She is an honorary doctor of medicine at Uppsala University, and has sat on the Broadcasting Commission.
Gahmberg is 73 years old and professor of biochemistry at Helsinki University. He is a trained doctor and one of Finland’s most cited researchers. He has worked in the USA and continues as emeritus professor to research at the Gahmberg Lab in Helsinki. He has held several international appointments and received many awards for scientific excellence. He is an overseas member of the Swedish Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
The investigative team will be furnished with whatever administrative resources are required, KI said.
According to Swedish TV series report, Paolo Macchiarini experimented on human being with his artificial plastic halspipe. He did experiments but all of the patients died.
Macchiarini denied allegations claiming the patients died of other reasons. But the report shows that he did human experiment first and then did it in animals. This concerns ethics in research and also with whether he got permission to do what he did or not.
Karolinska institute’s Nobel Committee Secretary Lendal resigned two days ago after the case was set up.
KI also made a decision that Macchiarini’s contract will not be extended after it expires in November, 2016.
The SVT series documentary was broadcast on Jan. 28th and it is still online.
The investigative report caused an earthquake in KI, where the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine will be announced every year.