Silvia Bulfone-Paus

Silvia Bulfone-Paus (born Silvia Bulfone) is an Italian immunologist. She is the chair of the Research Center Borstel's Department of Immunology and Cell Biology and also serves as professor of Immunobiology at the University of Manchester School of Medicine.

Career Bulfone-Paus specializes her research in the biology of the immune response, especially cytokines and mast cells. Cytokines are small molecules made of amino acids. These cell-signaling molecules play a role in the immune response and include interferons and interleukins. Anonymous whistleblower(s) began a campaign against Bulfone-Paus and her husband, emailing the investigators, other scientists, and politicians, alerting them to instances of fraud in Bulfone-Paus’ laboratory.

The investigation committee found that two former post-doctoral students in the lab were guilty of using pictures from unrelated experiments to support their findings in six papers written between 2001 and 2009. In response to the findings of their investigation, the Research Centre Borstel downsized Bulfone-Paus’ laboratory and decreased the funding of the lab.

In June 2010, the University of Lübeck, in Germany, began investigations into six papers authored by Bulfone-Paus’ husband, Ralf Paus. The article, published in 2000, was retracted because of “inaccurate information” for two figures contained in the paper.

Personal life Bulfone-Paus is married to Ralf Paus, a professor in Dermatology at the University of Münster in Germany. Paus also holds a position as Professor of Cutaneous Medicine at the University of Manchester. Bulfone-Paus and Paus have three children.