Leonid Schneider, honest among researchers

Leonid Schneider, 45, attended a good school to specialize in debunking research articles with manipulated, even invented results, and to become one of the world’s most famous scammers.

“During my MSc and thesis in molecular biology, I learned how to synthesize experimental data”He says bluntly, leading to a flood of words describing the horrors his laboratory in Dusseldorf faced in the 2000s. “I had to change the settings of the microscope to change the results because my boss felt they weren’t what he expected. He even threatened to suspend my grant of 300 euros a month if I didn’t. I refused and my country The scholarship has not been suspended. But others invented data. »

After leaving this team, the Ukrainian, who arrived in Germany at the age of fifteen, continued his “training”. “My new boss was a psychopathic tyrant who treated us like slaves. When I left, they took my name off the project and almost prevented my defense.”

This trained researcher, who chose biology for his love of animals, then left to “get better” in Italy. “I found massive scammers out there and realized that great newspapers are often built on…”He decides in the direct tone that is one of the hallmarks of his blog, For better sciencewhich was launched in 2015 to prove that its experience, Admittedly unlucky, it’s not uncommon. “These years made me out of step with the academic world.”He notices the everlasting smile on his face.

However, the harassment was not over. Before launching this blog, which has now become his main activity – along with the father who is the head of the house – the former researcher turned to journalism, working in particular for a journal specializing in the world of research. LabTimes (since he disappeared). “We broke up because we didn’t have the same views on animal protection, and because I was investigating friends.” From the editorial staffsums up. I do not like injustice or power. »

stressful and “lazy”

The character emerges in the small world of detectives tracking down scientific misconduct. He adopts a sarcastic tone in his blog, which sometimes damages the credibility of his revelations or stories. We have the same goal, but not in the same ways.notes Elizabeth Beck, another very famous fisherman, with whom he had some quarrels. Dorothy Bishop, who, like her colleague, adopts a very polite tone in her letters, also finds it “Extreme, black and white”. It’s Cool with Ivan Oransky, from Specialized Media Pull out the watchAnd with one of the founders of PubPeer, Scholarly Article Reviews Forum, in which his examples are frequently cited. Twitter (Day X) His dismissal… Like a ‘blue helmet’ in a minefield, New Zealand host and ticket manager Leonid Schneider admits Smoot Clyde has a “very personal tone”.

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