Sabatini was fired in August 2021 and resigned from two other roles after colleague Kristin Knouse accused him of sexual harassment in a relationship Sabatini claimed was consensual. His removal was supported by MIT administrators and the board of the Whitehead Institute, where he led a research lab. Supporters say the verdict invalidates the institutional narrative used to oust him and calls into question the accountability of the administrators who dismantled his career.
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
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Ex-MIT Scientist David Sabatini Wins $6M in Defamation Lawsuit
US Politics4 days ago
A jury in Massachusetts has found that former researcher David Sabatini was defamed after he was accused of inappropriate sexual conduct in his Cambridge laboratory. The court awarded Sabatini $6 million in damages to compensate for the destruction of his reputation and career. Sabatini was a molecular biologist whose research on the mTOR protein contributed to advancements in cancer and organ transplantation treatments.
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