Ethical Academia

The Trump administration is only a symptom of an underlying disease that afflicts a huge chunk of the United States: individualism, cut-throat competitiveness, and too much love for dollars 2/2.

Can we please stop pretending that US universities were fine before Trump? Too many, for example @ucsdmedschool.bsky.social, already engaged in unethical practices to get more funding instead of protecting the most vulnerable individuals. 1/2 #StandUpForScience

Option 3: Promoted the PI from Associate to Full Professor

Option 2: Fired the PI and made sure that such retaliatory events won’t occur anymore

Option 1: Investigate the matter and offered a resolution for both parties

In my previous institution, a student reported abuse and research misconduct from a powerful PI. In turn, the PI banned the student from an entire floor of his building. This student suffers from severe back pain and was forced to carry lab equipment around. What did the university do? #academicsky

I recently became aware that a powerful professor is trying to hire someone with a PhD as a "full time scientist" instead of a postdoc, likely to avoid having do deal with the Union contract that regulates postdoc positions at his Institution. Yet another unethical strategy against young scientists

When an immigrant #postdoc reports harassment and discrimination by a powerful professor, unethical universities tend to follow the same “delay, deny, defend” motto as #UnitedHealthcare [previously posted on X]

If a woman is abused by a powerful professor, she doesn't stand a chance of receiving help from an unethical university. If she is an immigrant, it is even easier to ignore the facts she presents. Psychological violence is violence. [previously posted on X]

Been there, a classic

These are typically powerful professors that belittle and harass their trainees in addition to violating principles of science integrity. Universities defend this behavior if it associated to substantial funding. It is crucial to speak up about abuse to keep academia a safe and welcoming community.

Academia is a wonderful place to be in. Academics are often genuinely in love with their work and committed to share their enthusiasm with others. They are generous in exchanging ideas and thrive in collaborative work. However, some individuals end up feeling superior to everyone else.