Kate Laskowski Receives Inaugural Ctrl-Z Award for Scientific Integrity

Kate Laskowski, an associate professor in the Department of Evolution and Ecology, has been named the Senior Researcher recipient of the inaugural Ctrl-Z Award, which recognizes scientists who take meaningful steps to correct the scientific record after discovering substantial errors in their published work.

Administered by the Center for Scientific Integrity, the parent nonprofit of Retraction Watch, the annual award honors researchers who demonstrate a commitment to transparency by correcting or retracting published research, even when doing so carries professional or personal risk.

Laskowski was recognized for her response after discovering that data provided by a former collaborator had been fabricated. After identifying unexpected duplicate values in a dataset, she launched a thorough investigation that confirmed the irregularities. The three papers based on the compromised data were ultimately retracted, and her work prompted broader scrutiny that led to additional retractions in the field.

"When I learned that several of my publications were based on fabricated data, I felt I had no choice but to retract them," Laskowski said. "It was one of the hardest decisions of my career, but it was the only one I felt I could make." She added that while she initially feared the retractions might end her career, she was "incredibly humbled by the support of my colleagues and the broader research community, who stood behind the decision to prioritize transparency."

Laskowski has since helped turn the experience into an opportunity to strengthen research practices. She developed an undergraduate course called Data Detectives, which teaches students how to critically evaluate scientific literature, and worked with the journal Behavioral Ecology to establish a new section devoted to replication studies.