Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance and Tragedy in Alzheimer’s Research with Charles Piller

For decades, Alzheimer’s research has been shaped by a dominant hypothesis, enormous funding streams, and the promise of breakthrough cures. But what happens when the science itself is compromised? In this episode of Foodie Pharmacology, Dr. Cassandra Quave sits down with investigative science journalist Charles Piller to unpack the revelations behind his book Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance, and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimer’s. We examine how image manipulation, groupthink, and institutional failures distorted the Alzheimer’s research landscape for years, shaping clinical trials, drug approvals, and patient expectations. This conversation goes beyond a single disease to examine research integrity, reproducibility, and the human cost of getting science wrong.