26 April 2022
A plea to NYU Leadership to not hire Dr. Sabatini

To whom it may concern,

We, the alumni of New York University School of Medicine, are writing today to declare our opposition to the recent news that NYU is planning to hire Dr. David M. Sabatini.

Student and postdoc trainees, at NYU and beyond, are the most vulnerable members of our scientific community. We have directly experienced and witnessed the gross inequities facing racial, gender, and other underrepresented minority groups, as well as the staggering lack of trainee power within scientific education. These are well-documented systemic issues that drive mental health consequences in trainees and degrade our capacity to thrive and discover.

Dr. Sabatini has been infamously fired from HHMI and forced to resign from MIT Whitehead Institute for violating sexual harassment policies. In addition to this thorough investigation, there are ongoing court cases stating publicly that he cultivated a toxic work environment through sexist and racist commentary and threats of retaliation. Despite this staggering evidence of multifaceted misconduct, and further accusations of data manipulation, the NYU leadership has now elected to pursue hiring him in direct violation of our community values.

NYU is a world leader in research and education that touts a dedication to fostering a safe and supportive learning environment for trainees. There are countless faculty, trainees, and administrators still at NYU that show steadfast dedication to ethical conduct, effective mentorship, and a culture of mutual respect. However, the higher up decision to recruit Dr. Sabatini betrays trainee trust, undermines NYU’s mission, and impedes the capacity of NYU to offer a safe learning environment to future trainees. The world is watching NYU set this dangerous precedent and the decision to potentially hire Dr. Sabatini threatens the legitimacy and safety of the worldwide scientific enterprise.

We urge NYU Langone leadership, specifically Dean and CEO Dr. Robert Grossman and Executive Vice President & Vice Dean for Science Dr. Dafna Bar-Sagi to rescind any offers to hire Dr. Sabatini and, instead, devote themselves to efforts that protect and empower trainees at NYU.

With deep respect for scientific training,

Alumni Trainees of NYU School of Medicine and other concerned citizens of the scientific enterprise

731
signatures
666 verified
  1. Rhodes Hambrick, Fellow Physician in Pediatric Nephrology, Cincinnati
  2. Caroline Amendola, Postdoc, National Renewable Energy Lab, Denver
  3. Hannah Actor-Engel, Graduate student, University of Colorado Anschutz, Denver
  4. Julia Derk, Postdoc
  5. Lydia Grmai, PhD, Postdoctoral Scientist, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
  6. Anna Josephson, Associate Medical Director, New York, NY
  7. Hannah Weber, PhD, MD/PhD Candidate, New York University School of Medicine, New York
  8. Matthew Witkowski, Assistant Professor, CU Anschutz, Aurora
  9. Erwin Cabrera, PhD, Research Faculty, Farmingdale State College -SUNY, Farmingdale
  10. Eric Wang, Postdoc, MSKCC (former NYU PhD student), NYC
  11. Deborah DeLair, Physician, NYU Grosan School of Medicine, New York, NY
  12. Lili Blumenberg, Associate scientist, Regeneron pharmaceuticals, Mount Kisco, NY
  13. Aleks Penev, MSTP Student, NYU School of Medicine, New York
  14. Yohei Rosen, MD, PhD Candidate, UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute, Santa Cruz, CA
  15. Andrew Mah, PhD Student, NYC
  16. Kathleen Martin, PhD Student, New York University, NYC
  17. Alla Peselis, Medical Communications, Lighthouse, NYC
  18. Ayat Agha, Student, New York University, NYC
  19. Sophie Wilkins, MSTP student, NYU School of Medicine, New York
  20. Mohammad Sadic, MD, PhD candidate, New York University, New York
...
626 more
verified signatures
  1. James Wood Toussaint, Student, New York University, Forest Hills
  2. Elena Pereira, Graduate Student, NYU Robert F. Wagner School & School of Global Public Health, NYC
  3. Priyanka Sharma, Student, NYU School of Global Public Health, Rego Park
  4. Dianna Ng, Assistant Attending, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, Ny
  5. Punith Shetty, NYU School of Global Public Health, Hartford
  6. Jasmine Bar, Student, NYU GPH, New York
  7. Katie Wang, Student, NYU CAS, New York
  8. Jingyang Zhou, postdoc, NYU, NYC
  9. Varounny Chanthasiri, Researcher, MIT, Cambridge, MA
  10. Daria Siekhaus, Asst Professor, IST Austria, Klosterneuburg
  11. Loren Collado, MD/PhD candidate, New York University School of Medicine - - Manhattan, NY, New York
  12. Jennifer Lyons, MPH Candidate, NYU School of Global Public Health, New York
  13. Lisa Ploch, NYU PhD Alumna, Wiesbaden
  14. Makayla Grant Thompson
  15. Sahnah Lim, Assistant Professor, NYU School of Medicine, New York
  16. Lindsey Osagiede, Alum, NYU Global Public Health, NYC
  17. Linda Phung, MPH Candidate, NYU School of Global Public Health, NYC
  18. Jaime Llodrá, PhD Alum, NYU School of Medicine, NYC
  19. Carla Seet, MPH, NYU School of Global Public Health, NYC
  20. Yasmin Padovan-Hernandez, PhD Student, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore
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