Verfaillie, Catherine M.

Catherine M. Verfaillie (Flemish: [kaːtəˈrinə vərˈfɑi]; born 1957 in Ypres) is a Belgian molecular biologist. After obtaining an M.D. from the Catholic University of Leuven (KU Leuven) in 1982, she specialized in internal medicine in 1987. She currently she works as a biologist and a professor at KU 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 papers 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 inaccurate figures.