Lorenza S. Colzato (born 20 September 1974) is an Italian

cognitive psychologist Cognitive psychology is the scientific study of human mental processes such as attention, language use, memory, perception, problem solving, creativity, and reasoning. Cognitive psychology originated in the 1960s in a break from behaviorism, whi ...

who is best known for the attention she received in the mainstream media in the Netherlands for multiple incidents of

scientific misconduct Scientific misconduct is the violation of the standard codes of scholarly method, scholarly conduct and ethics, ethical behavior in the publication of professional science, scientific research. It is the violation of scientific integrity: violati ...

.Italiaanse docent Universiteit Leiden fraudeerde met vijftien onderzoeken
– website of the Dutch national broadcasting organisation NOS Her research "aims to understand the neural and neuromodular underpinnings of

cognitive control In cognitive science and neuropsychology, executive functions (collectively referred to as executive function and cognitive control) are a set of cognitive processes that support goal-directed behavior, by regulating thoughts and actions throu ...

in humans."

Life

Colzato was born in

Bolzano Bolzano ( ; ; or ) is the capital city of South Tyrol (officially the province of Bolzano), Northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third largest in historical Tyrol. The ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

.Colzato CV
Page accessed 7 May 2015 She studied at the

University of Padova The University of Padua (, UNIPD) is an Italian public research university in Padua, Italy. It was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from the University of Bologna, who previously settled in Vicenza; thus, it is the second-oldest ...

(Italy), where she received a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

Clinical Psychology Clinical psychology is an integration of human science, behavioral science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well ...

and

Cognitive Psychology Cognitive psychology is the scientific study of human mental processes such as attention, language use, memory, perception, problem solving, creativity, and reasoning. Cognitive psychology originated in the 1960s in a break from behaviorism, whi ...

in 1999. She then moved to

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...

(Netherlands) where she obtained her

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

degree in Social and Behavioural Sciences in 2005. In 2006, she was appointed as

assistant professor Assistant professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doct ...

at the Cognitive Psychology Unit of Leiden University. Subsequently, in 2017, she left Leiden due to allegations of scientific and criminal misconduct. In 2017, she became a Professor by Special Appointment (Außerplanmäßiger Professor) at the

Ruhr University Bochum The Ruhr University Bochum (, ) is a public research university located in the southern hills of the central Ruhr area, Bochum, Germany. It was founded in 1962 as the first new public university in Germany after World War II. Instruction began ...

(

North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

), a position that was officially revoked from her by the university in May 2021 due to the scientific misconduct. Since 2019, she furthermore works as researcher at the Carl Gustav Carus University Hospital, affiliated with the

Technical University Dresden TU Dresden (for , abbreviated as TUD), also as the Dresden University of Technology, is a public research university in Dresden, Germany. It is the largest institute of higher education in the city of Dresden, the largest university in Saxony a ...

( Saxony, Germany). She is also a

psychotherapist Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of Psychology, psychological methods, particularly when based on regular Conversation, personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase hap ...

. In 2008, she was awarded a VENI scholarship from the

Dutch Research Council The Dutch Research Council (NWO, Dutch: Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek) is the national research council of the Netherlands. NWO funds thousands of top researchers at universities and institutes and steers the course o ...

(NWO).

Research

Colzato's research is focused on how thinking and creativity are shaped. Her research often touches on popular topics and the resulting papers are discussed in popular media: examples include studies on exercise and creativity, the effect of odors on trust, and the effect of

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...

on creative thinking.

Scientific misconduct

Since 2019, Colzato's work at Leiden University was being investigated for various alleged breaches of academic integrity, including data manipulation, misattribution of authorship, and collection of blood samples without permission from the Medical Ethical board. The latter would turn out to be a criminal offense. Colzato resigned from her position at Leiden University, and requested a second opinion from the university's academic integrity committee. She pointed out that one of the accusers, a PhD candidate at that time, was the person who actually performed the study (which the medical ethics review board declined to approve), took the blood samples and was the lead and corresponding (hence, responsible) author of one of the two articles in question. She further argued that Leiden University violated various rules and regulations throughout the investigation. However, both the University Scientific Integrity Committee (CWI) and the Netherlands Board on Research Integrity (LOWI) concluded that, whatever the wrong-doings of her accuser may have been, such would not be sufficient to exculpate Colzato (being the supervisor or principal investigator) for the confirmed integrity violations, including performing an unapproved medical study. On 21 September 2020, the Dutch newspaper ''NRC Handelsblad'' reported that Leiden University had, in August, made Colzato's provisional dismissal a definitive one. In 2019, Leiden University recommended the retraction of two of her papers, of which the first was indeed retracted in 2021 and the second received an expression of concern in 2020 from the respective journals. As a result of further investigations, Leiden University concluded in 2021 that Colzato also committed fraud in at least fifteen other scientific publications. In a supplementary decision on 17 May 2022, the executive board of Leiden University has concluded that it will publish the titles of seven articles in which there is evidence of malpractice.

References

'Italiaanse docent van Universiteit Leiden overschreed vele normen'

External links

Psycholoog schond vele normen/ Psychologist violated many standards
6 December 2019 in

NRC Handelsblad ''NRC'', previously called ' (), is a daily morning newspaper published in the Netherlands by Mediahuis NRC. It is widely regarded as a newspaper of record in the country. History was first published on 1 October 1970 after a merger of the Amst ...

in Dutch language
De angstcultuur in Leiden is niet uniek voor Leiden / The culture of fear in Leiden is not unique for Leiden
22 December 2019 by

Sander Voormolen A sander is a power tool used to smooth surfaces by abrasion with sandpaper. Sanders have a means to attach the sandpaper and a mechanism to move it rapidly contained within a housing with means to handhold it or fix it to a workbench. Woodwo ...

and

Patricia Veldhuis Patricia is a feminine given name of Latin origin. Derived from the Latin word '' patrician'', meaning 'noble', it is the feminine form of the masculine given name Patrick. Another well-known variant is Patrice. According to the US Social Securi ...

in Dutch language {{DEFAULTSORT:Colzato, Lorenza 1974 births Academic scandals Cognitive psychologists Italian psychologists Italian women psychologists Leiden University alumni Living people People from Bolzano People involved in scientific misconduct incidents University of Padua alumni 21st-century Italian scientists 21st-century Italian women scientists

Life

Research

Scientific misconduct

See also

References

External links