Student’s fake Ph.D. claims prompt JAMA retractions of medical letters
A Cornell student, Zhihao Lei, signed at least 35 letters to editors in medical journals, claiming a Ph.D. from Cornell—claims that were false since he only held a bachelor’s degree and was a master’s student. Two letters in JAMA Oncology and JAMA Pediatrics were retracted after Lei acknowledged the credentials were misrepresented, while six other letters also carried Ph.D. claims that have not been corrected. The case raises concerns about author metadata and credentials in medical publishing, with ongoing investigations by multiple journals and no comment yet from JAMA or Cornell.
