MONROVIA – Former National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL) Director General Dr. Dougbeh Chris Nyan alleges he was improperly removed as senior author of a major Mpox research manuscript. The paper documents Liberia’s Mpox response between 2017 and 2025. Nyan says his name was replaced with that of Dr. Sia W. Camanor, NPHIL’s current Officer-in-Charge. He argues Camanor was not at NPHIL when the research was conceived and conducted. Co-authors reportedly told Nyan the change resulted from a political decision. International publishing standards require authorship to reflect actual scientific contribution. As THE ANALYST reports, the dispute follows Nyan’s earlier removal as Director General, which the Supreme Court later ruled unlawful. Government has not implemented that ruling.
A significant dispute over scientific authorship and research ethics has surfaced at the National Public Health Institute of Liberia (NPHIL), with former Director General and internationally respected biomedical scientist Dr. Dougbeh Chris Nyan alleging that his intellectual contributions to a landmark Mpox research project have been improperly erased through what he describes as an unethical alteration of authorship.
At the center of the controversy is a scientific manuscript entitled “Epidemiological and Clinical Characteristics of Mpox Cases in Liberia, 2017–2025,” which documents years of epidemiological surveillance and scientific investigation into Liberia’s Mpox outbreak.
According to documents reviewed by this publication, the manuscript originally listed Emmanuel Dwalu as first author, several collaborating researchers as co-authors, and Dr. Nyan as the senior author, the position traditionally reserved for the scientist who conceived, supervised, and directed the overall research effort.
However, Dr. Nyan alleges that his name was subsequently removed from the senior authorship position and replaced with that of Dr. Sia W. Camanor, the current Officer-in-Charge of NPHIL.
The dispute extends beyond personal recognition, raising broader questions regarding scientific ethics, intellectual property protection, institutional governance, and whether administrative authority should influence scholarly publications.
Questions Over Authorship Ethics
International scientific publishing standards, including those established by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), require that authorship be based on substantial intellectual contributions to a study.
These include participation in the conception and design of the research, data acquisition or analysis, manuscript preparation, approval of the final version, and accountability for the integrity of the work.
Administrative position alone does not qualify an individual for authorship under internationally accepted publication ethics.
Dr. Nyan argues that Dr. Camanor was not employed at NPHIL during the period in which the Mpox studies were conceived, conducted, and analyzed between 2017 and 2025, and therefore could not have made scientific contributions warranting senior authorship.
The manuscript currently lists Emmanuel Dwalu as first author, followed by Bode I. Shobayo, Ralph W. Jetoh, F. Tarweh, N. Candy, L.M. Sanvee-Blebo, P. Adewuyi, T. Dieula, and Julius Gilayeneh, with Dr. Camanor now occupying the senior author position. Several listed co-authors reportedly declined to comment on the matter when contacted.
Allegations Of Political Influence
The controversy intensified after Dr. Nyan disclosed that he had communicated with the lead author and co-authors through separate emails in March and June 2026 requesting that the original authorship arrangement be restored.
According to Dr. Nyan, those requests were rejected, with the explanation that the authorship change resulted from a “political decision.”
If accurate, such an explanation could represent a troubling departure from globally accepted scientific publication practices, where authorship is expected to be determined solely by scholarly contribution rather than institutional hierarchy or political considerations.
“My interest is simply to ensure that the scientific record reflects the truth,” Dr. Nyan said. He further argued that allowing individuals who made no scientific contribution to receive authorship credit undermines the credibility of Liberia’s scientific institutions and discourages genuine researchers.
Other Contributors Reportedly Omitted
Dr. Nyan also contends that other researchers who substantially contributed to the project were omitted entirely from the manuscript.
He disclosed that during Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) meetings in Addis Ababa and Abuja, discussions were held with regional scientific partners, including Dr. Chukwuma of the African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET), regarding publication workshops intended to strengthen the manuscript before submission to international journals.
According to him, those collaborative efforts further demonstrate that the project evolved under a broad scientific framework initiated during his leadership of NPHIL.
Tied To Earlier Legal Battle
The authorship controversy also intersects with an earlier legal dispute surrounding Dr. Nyan’s removal as Director General of NPHIL.
Dr. Nyan maintains that Dr. Camanor served among NPHIL Board members who endorsed the resolution recommending his removal from office, a decision later challenged before the Supreme Court. Liberia’s Supreme Court subsequently ruled in Dr. Nyan’s favor, concluding that due process had not been followed and ordering either his reinstatement or compensation for the remainder of his statutory tenure.
To date, the government has not publicly implemented the Court’s directive, leaving the judgment at the center of ongoing public discussion regarding respect for judicial authority and institutional governance.
Against that backdrop, Dr. Nyan argues that the alteration of authorship raises additional concerns about fairness and professional accountability within the institution.
Scientific Reputation At Stake
Beyond the legal and administrative dimensions, the dispute carries implications for Liberia’s standing within the international scientific community. Dr. Nyan is widely recognized for inventing the NYAN-TEST, a rapid multiplex molecular diagnostic technology that has received three United States patents, with research that has appeared in internationally respected peer-reviewed journals, including Nature, Clinical Infectious Diseases, Emerging Infectious Diseases, and the International Journal of Infectious Diseases.
During his tenure as Director General, NPHIL expanded its outbreak surveillance capacity, coordinated responses to Mpox, Lassa fever, and measles outbreaks, and led genomic investigations that identified Mpox Clade IIa circulating in Liberia. Under his leadership, NPHIL also attained recognition from the Africa CDC as a Regional Centre of Excellence.
While the dispute remains centered on one manuscript, experts note that authorship disagreements can have lasting implications for scientific credibility, researcher morale, and institutional reputation.
International publication ethics recognize authorship as both an academic credit and a professional responsibility, and any perception that names are added or removed for reasons unrelated to scientific contribution risks undermining confidence in research produced by public institutions.
As the controversy unfolds, many within Liberia’s medical and academic communities are likely to watch closely, not only to determine how NPHIL resolves the immediate dispute but also to assess what precedent it sets for protecting intellectual property, maintaining ethical publication standards, and preserving confidence in the country’s growing scientific enterprise.