Top cancer scientist is stripped of £3.5million grants over ‘ bully’ row
‘Creative and exciting’
A LEADING geneticist has had £ 3.5million in grant money revoked following allegations of bullying by 45 current and former colleagues. Professor Nazneen Rahman resigned as head of genetics and epidemiology at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) after an investigation by her employers.
The alleged victims spoke out in a letter last year, which was signed by 23 other staff who claimed they had witnessed the bullying.
One accuser said she was undermined on such a regular basis that ‘by the end of it I really had a lack of confidence in my own abilities’.
Professor Rahman is understood to be the first scientist to be sanctioned under anti-bullying rules introduced by the Wellcome Trust this year.
As a result, the foundation has confirmed that it would terminate or transfer what remained of the £7.5million funding that had been awarded to her.
One of the complainants, who wishes to remain anonymous, told the Guardian: ‘ The practice of people resigning ahead of definitive disciplinary judgment leaves significant ambiguity and opportunity for them to return to funding in a short space of time.’
Last November’s letter to the ICR accused her of ‘serious recurrent bullying and harassment’. It said her behaviour caused psychological harm and career damage, ‘some of it very serious’.
Of the 45 signatories, around half claimed to have suffered direct bullying that created an ‘intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive’ working environment.
The rest claimed to have witnessed bullying and harassment. The signatories included current and former employees of the ICR and its sister organisation, London’s Royal Marsden Hospital.
Professor Rahman’s work has focused on identifying genes that cause disease – particularly breast, ovarian and childhood cancers.
She has won many accolades for her research and secured millions of pounds in funding for the ICR. She was recently honoured at the Asian women of achievement awards and has received a CBE for services to medical science.
Ann Strydom, a scientific programme manager at the ICR, defended Professor Rahman, saying she ‘provides a motivating, creative and exciting working environment’. In response to the Wellcome Trust sanction, Professor Rahman told the Guardian: ‘My team and I will complete our Wellcome-funded research prior to my leaving ICR in October. We are working with ICR and Wellcome to ensure science and patients can benefit from our work.’
Professor Rahman will be barred from applying for funding from Wellcome or from sitting on any of its advisory committees or boards for two years.
A Wellcome spokesman said: ‘Unacceptable behaviour causes significant harm, stops people achieving their full potential and stifles good research.’
The ICR said: ‘We believe an open and supportive working environment is essential for our work to defeat cancer.’