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jsr

(7,712 posts) Fri Mar 7, 2014, 04:33 PM Mar 2014

Sabotaged Scientist Sues Yale and Her Lab Chief

http://observationdeck.io9.com/holy-shit-this-sabotage-story-is-the-stuff-of-researc-1538150751

Koziol's studies of how the genome switches on after an egg is fertilized had begun failing mysteriously in July 2011, a month after she started her postdoc in the developmental biology lab of Antonio Giraldez. In August, she began producing transgenic zebrafish; they all died, not once, but time after time. A lab technician assured her she was doing everything right, and colleagues' fish were fine. So Koziol produced a new batch of fish and divided them in two groups. One she put in a container labeled with her initials, MK, as she had done before. She left the other half unmarked. Sure enough, the labeled fish died; the others were fine.

The experiment was a key step in proving that someone was tampering with her experiments, according to a lawsuit Koziol filed with the Superior Court in New Haven on 7 February. When hidden cameras were installed in the lab, they revealed a fellow postdoc poisoning her fish, the complaint says. Now, Koziol is suing the alleged perpetrator, Polloneal Jymmiel Ocbina. According to the complaint, he left Yale after he was caught on video.

From then on, Koziol's relationship with her boss deteriorated. The complaint says he refused to provide her with a letter about the sabotage, which presumably would have helped explain her lack of data to future employers. Koziol alleges that he criticized her work and character, didn't help her make up for the lost time, gave her "angry looks when passing in the lab," didn't list her as a contributor to a Nature article, and threatened to fire and "destroy" her. Koziol became depressed, suffered from sleeplessness, and gained weight; when she and Giraldez talked for 3 hours in August 2012, Koziol "cried throughout the meeting," the complaint says.

Koziol filed a grievance procedure against Giraldez, which she lost; Yale, in its statement to Science, calls her allegations against Giraldez and the university "factually distorted and legally baseless.

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Sabotaged Scientist Sues Yale and Her Lab Chief (Original Post) jsr Mar 2014 OP

I'm glad none of my labs were like that sharp_stick Mar 2014 #1

I had a similar problem - back in the wayback machine hollysmom Mar 2014 #2

The school is going to regret this. nt bemildred Mar 2014 #3

I guess Palmolive's untraceable (bad aquarium experience) MisterP Mar 2014 #4

There is a claim in there that there was a tape of him doing it. bemildred Mar 2014 #5

And the post-doc left. Igel Mar 2014 #6

That works for me. (Assuming that tape exists.) bemildred Mar 2014 #7

sharp_stick

(14,400 posts)

1. I'm glad none of my labs were like that

Reply to jsr (Original post)

Fri Mar 7, 2014, 04:44 PM

Mar 2014

I know people who've been in that same situation either because they didn't get along with a labmate or they were encouraged to compete with their labmates. The first you can usually deal with, the second is a damned good reason to get the hell out of Dodge.

I learned early when looking at labs, especially during a post-doc hunt, to ask about the project and who else is working on the same systems. I then made it a point to talk to every student, technician and post-doc in the lab to make sure that there was no serious overlap.

Every lab I've ever seen with a competitive environment was toxic as hell. The students were worn out as much from protecting their turf as doing experiments and honestly not a single one of them enjoyed their time there.

hollysmom

(5,946 posts)

2. I had a similar problem - back in the wayback machine

Reply to jsr (Original post)

Fri Mar 7, 2014, 05:00 PM

Mar 2014

It was when cards carried computer code. I worked with someone who had a second job and we were not allowed to have a second job. He thought I knew because he ran into a friend of mine, but I did not talk to her until years later. In the mean while, I would go home and my programs would not work and I would find the cards mixed up a little one card here, one card there as if I had done it. but Iknew I didn't., so once, I acted like I went home, but just went around the former and waited until I heard noise near the card pick up spot - went around the corner and there he was near my box with cards in his hands. I didn't report him but said if I ever had that problem again, I would report him and people liked me better than him. so they would believe me over him. It stopped.