Nobel administrator resigns in wake of Macchiarini scandal

Secretary general of the Nobel Assembly, Urban Lendahl, has resigned following the widening scandal surrounding the Karolinska surgeon Paolo Macchiarini.

Lendahl, who is based at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, said he had resigned “out of respect for the integrity of the Nobel Prize work”, ahead of his likely involvement in a second external investigation of Macchiarini’s case.

In May 2015, Macchiarini was found to have carried out "systemic misrepresentation of data" in his research involving synthetic trachea transplants, following an external investigation commissioned by the Karolinska Institute. But in September, the institute’s vice-chancellor cleared the researcher of misconduct.