Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine's scientific integrity team should have more people from outside the school.

Pham Ngoc Thach Medical School established a scientific integrity committee, but it was made up entirely of people from the school. Later, two associate professors withdrew. Experts recommended that the school invite independent members.

2 associate professors withdrew for personal reasons

Recently, Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine (HCMC) has become the focus of public attention after the incident involving candidate Au Nhat Huy (24 years old), son of Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Thi Khanh Tuong, Head of the Faculty of Medicine, Head of the Department of Internal Medicine. Au Nhat Huy graduated from Tan Tao University and was admitted to the university's doctoral program in Internal Medicine with the second highest score in the admission exam.

After the review process, an international article in the candidate's application was withdrawn from the journal Chronic Obstr Pulm Dis (2025), causing the research score to drop to 9.5 and the average score to 88.3. However, this did not affect Au Nhat Huy's admission result in the 2025 doctoral entrance exam.

On social networks, the group “ Scientific Integrity” - a community of scientists and readers interested in academic transparency - has spoken out to analyze in detail the related publications of candidate Au Nhat Huy and Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Thi Khanh Tuong.

On October 28, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Dang Thoai, Vice Rector of Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine, signed a Decision to establish a Working Group on Scientific Integrity, consisting of 7 members and with a term of 30 days. Dr. Pham Quoc Dung, Vice Rector, was appointed as the Head of the Group.

According to the decision, the working group is tasked with reviewing all contents related to Article 8 of the Law on Science, Technology and Innovation 2025, as well as Articles 4 and 6 of Decree 262/2025/ND-CP. The goal is to ensure that research, publication and training activities in the school comply with the principles of scientific integrity.

The working group consists of many key officials: Prof. Dr. Ngo Minh Xuan - Chairman of the Science and Training Council; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ngo Minh Vinh - Deputy Head of the Department of Scientific Research; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Huynh Quang Huy - Editor-in-Chief of Pham Ngoc Thach Journal of Medicine and Pharmacy; Dr. Ngo Thi Thuy Dung - lecturer of the Department of Postgraduate Training Management; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Tuan Vu - Deputy Head of the Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine; MSc. Nguyen Thi Hang - lecturer of the Department of Inspection and Legal Affairs.

Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine. Photo: Le Huyen

However, immediately after the list of members was announced, two associate professors in the group withdrew, one of whom stated the reason was to "ensure absolute objectivity and transparency" of the review process, due to information on social networks related to the case of Associate Professor, Doctor, Doctor of Science, II Tran Thi Khanh Tuong.

Speaking to VietNamNet , a media representative of Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine said that the two associate professors requested to withdraw from the scientific integrity team due to personal reasons. The school has not yet added members to the team.

Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine should invite more independent experts.

Currently, the Law on Science, Technology and Innovation as well as Decree 262/2025/ND-CP have clearly stipulated scientific integrity. Previously, many universities established Scientific Integrity Councils such as Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics , Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade, Nguyen Tat Thanh University... to advise the principal to review and assess the ethical and scientific aspects of research. The Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics's Integrity Council consists of nearly 20 members.

The establishment of the Integrity Team of Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine is considered a necessary step, especially in the context of more and more universities paying attention to academic integrity standards, research ethics and transparency in scientific publication.

The leader of a university in Ho Chi Minh City said that when a school establishes a scientific integrity team or a scientific integrity council to consider a problem within the school, it is necessary to invite people from outside the school to participate, especially international scientists, to objectively consider the problem.

Sharing with VietNamNet , a famous professor in the medical field, with many years of experience in international publications, said that Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine's establishment of an integrity team is in the right direction, but the way it is done needs to be reviewed, especially when two members asked to withdraw, which is a warning sign about the risk of conflict of interest or internal pressure.

According to this professor, for the integrity team to operate effectively, the school should invite 3 more independent members from outside the school or from international research institutions, with priority given to those with experience in scientific publishing and research ethics. The scientific background and commitment to not conflict of interest of all members should be published on the school's website for public supervision; at the same time, the work program, scope of review and evaluation criteria should be made public based on international guidelines such as COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) or according to the standards of the Ministry of Education and Training.

“Any university needs to have a permanent integrity council, not just a temporary one for 30 days. In foreign countries, anyone who wants to do research must learn about ethical standards and scientific integrity before starting,” the professor emphasized.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/to-liem-chinh-khoa-hoc-dh-y-khoa-pham-ngoc-thach-nen-co-them-nguoi-ngoai-truong-2458607.html