Gideon Koren

Gideon Koren, FACMT, FRCP(C) (Hebrew: גדעון קורן; born August 27, 1947) is an Israeli-Canadian pediatrician, clinical pharmacologist, toxicologist, and composer.

Gideon Koren
גדעון קורן
Born	(1947-08-27) 27 August 1947 (age 78) Tel Aviv, Israel
Known for	Founder of the Motherisk Program, research controversies, and Israeli folk music composition
Scientific career
Fields	Pediatrics, clinical pharmacology, toxicology
Institutions	Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto
Musical career
Genres	Israeli folk music
Occupations	Composer, musician

While in medical school in 1971, Koren founded The Brothers and The Sisters, a prominent Israeli musical group during the 1970s and early 1980s, for which he was the manager and principal composer.

Koren emigrated to Canada in 1982, where he worked as a physician at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and served as a professor at the University of Toronto. In 1985, Koren established Motherisk, a clinical and research program at The Hospital for Sick Children that was later closed following controversy.^[1] Several scientific publications authored by Koren have been subject to scrutiny over academic and research practices, resulting in the retraction of six articles and the issuance of editorial expressions of concern for others.^[2]

Koren relinquished his licence to practice medicine in Canada during an investigation into allegations of professional misconduct and incompetence related to his leadership of the Motherisk laboratory.^[3] The laboratory became the focus of a scandal which raised concerns about the reliability of forensic toxicology testing used in approximately 16,000 child protection cases and six criminal cases.^[4] An independent review concluded that Koren and his staff lacked the qualifications required for the forensic testing performed.^[5]

In 2018, The Toronto Star published an investigative report identifying concerns in Koren’s research, including inadequate peer review, undeclared conflicts of interest, and inaccuracies in methodology. This reporting contributed to further retractions of Koren’s scientific publications.^[2][6]

Prior to the Motherisk controversy, Koren was reprimanded by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario for sending anonymous harassing letters to physician Nancy Olivieri and three colleagues, and for initially denying responsibility.

Biography

Early life and education

Koren was born in 1947 in Tel Aviv, then part of Mandatory Palestine, and was raised in the nearby town of Kiryat Ono. His father was the chief engineer of the Reading Power Station of the Israel Electric Corporation.

Koren received his Doctor of Medicine degree from the Sackler School of Medicine at Tel Aviv University in 1973. Following mandatory military service in the Israel Defense Forces, he pursued postgraduate clinical studies in pediatrics and pediatric nephrology, as well as research training in pediatric toxicology, pharmacology, and membrane biology at The Hospital for Sick Children and the University of Toronto. He later joined the faculty of the University of Toronto and the staff of the Hospital for Sick Children, where he ultimately became a professor.

Koren subsequently held the endowed Ivey Chair in Molecular Toxicology at the Schulich School of Medicine at the University of Western Ontario, where he contributed to the establishment of a national program in human toxicology while continuing his work in Toronto.^[7]

Music career

In 1971, while studying medicine at Tel Aviv University, Koren founded the Israeli musical group The Brothers & The Sisters, which became one of the notable Israeli groups of the 1970s and 1980s. The band performed many of Koren’s compositions, including children’s songs and musicals.^[8][9][10] In 1974, he collaborated with singer Shlomo Artzi on an album based on his grandmother Keri’s story A Journey to Noteland. A stage musical adaptation of A Journey to Noteland premiered in Israel in 2008.^[11]

In 1992, Koren founded the Bear Theatre at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.^[12][13][14] In 2005, The Brothers & The Sisters toured North America following the publication of a bilingual commemorative volume of the poetry of Natan Yonatan, accompanied by a CD of Koren’s musical settings of the poems.^[15][16] The group continues to perform in Israel, often featuring Koren’s compositions, many of which are set to works by Israeli poets.

Medical career and controversies

Koren founded the Motherisk Program at the Hospital for Sick Children in 1985, which he directed until his retirement in June 2015.^[17] The program was later closed following concerns about the reliability of its forensic toxicology testing, which had been used in thousands of child protection and criminal cases. An independent review concluded that the laboratory staff lacked the necessary expertise for forensic work.^[1]

Deferiprone controversy

In 1996, a controversy arose regarding the drug deferiprone, used in the treatment of thalassemia. Koren supported its use for certain patients, while Toronto hematologist Nancy Olivieri raised concerns about its safety and efficacy.^[18][19] During the dispute, Koren sent five anonymous letters to Olivieri and three other colleagues and initially denied responsibility.^[20] Two inquiries—by the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO)—found that Koren had authored the letters and misrepresented his role until confronted with DNA evidence.^[21][22] Both bodies also cited academic misconduct in connection with a related publication, though CAUT stated the misconduct should not be described as fraudulent. The CPSO formally reprimanded Koren for the letters and his repeated denials.

Scientific misconduct

In December 2018, The Toronto Star reported problems in more than 400 scientific papers coauthored by Koren, including inadequate peer review, undeclared conflicts of interest, and inaccuracies in methodology.^[6] This reporting led to retractions and editorial expressions of concern regarding several of his publications. In 2019, Koren threatened legal action against the editor of Therapeutic Drug Monitoring following the retraction of one of his papers.^[23] In February 2019, he agreed to relinquish his licence to practice medicine in Ontario while under investigation by the CPSO for alleged professional misconduct and incompetence in relation to the Motherisk laboratory. He also agreed not to reapply for a medical licence in Ontario.^[3]

The Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons also cited him for additional misconduct in research.^[24][25]

As of 2022, six of his research publications have been retracted, three have received an expression of concern, and four others have been corrected..^[2][26]

Books

Koren has published 15 medical books,^[27] among them:

• Retinoids in Clinical Practice: The Risk-Benefit Ratio (Medical Toxicology). New York: M. Dekker, 1993. (ISBN 0824787781)
• The Children of Neverland: The Silent Human Disaster. Toronto: Kid in Us, 1997. (ISBN 0968180108)
• The Complete Guide to Everyday Risks in Pregnancy & Breastfeeding: Answers to Your Questions About Morning Sickness, Medications, Herbs, Diseases, Chemical Exposures & More. Toronto: R. Rose, 2004. (ISBN 0-7788-0084-9)
• Medication Safety in Pregnancy and Breastfeeding. New York: McGraw-Hill, Health Professions Division, 2007. (ISBN 0071448284)
• Medication Safety in Pregnancy and Breastfeeding: The Evidence-Based, A to Z Clinician's Pocket Guide. New York: McGraw-Hill Medical, 2007. (ISBN 0071448276)

See also

• List of scientific misconduct incidents