STAT+: A junior scientist. A prominent oncologist. Now, a clash at MD Anderson over who gets research credit
It’s not uncommon for scientists to disagree over authorship. But it’s highly unusual for researchers to try to resolve these disputes in court rather than debate them behind closed doors.
Three years ago, Jamie Lin, an early-career nephrologist at MD Anderson Cancer Center, made findings that could potentially help both save the kidneys of cancer patients and propel her career as a physician-scientist hoping to one day run her own lab. It was a promising start, but that’s when Lin says one of the Texas institute’s most powerful researchers interfered.
Lin alleges in a lawsuit that prominent oncologist Padmanee Sharma derailed the publication of papers based on Lin’s work, threatened to undermine her fledgling career, and made defamatory comments about her in retaliation for resisting making Sharma an author on a paper and saying the senior researcher had made no substantial contribution to it.
“Having this and another paper taken — what would’ve been important papers for my career,” Lin told STAT in an interview. “I’m sure that my career in research has just fallen off a cliff.”
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