Catherine Verfaillie

Catherine M. Verfaillie obtained an M.D. from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in 1982. After graduation, she specialized in internal medicine and in 1987. Currently she works as a Belgian molecular biologist and professor at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven . Her work on the ability of adult stem cells to differentiate to different cell types has garnered controversy due to accusations of poor laboratory practices and fabrication of data by members of her laboratory. In 2019 it was shown that several of her more recent paper also contained altered images and potential fraud was committed. An investigation by the KU Leuven Commission on Research Integrity, finished in July 2020, concluded that there was no breach of research integrity in the investigated publications, but that some papers did contain innacurate figures.