How Luis Serrano, CRG's (Barcelona) Director, lied to the Catalan/Spanish Court

Below is how His Excellency Luis Serrano, CRG Director (Spanish/Catalan research institute of Excellence™), did his best to protect reputation of his realm by having serially lied about the reason of a former employee's dismissal virtually performed by his miss-stress, Maria Lluch-Senar — he was unable to procure a PI position for her, so now she's a «scientific» executive in a yet another bogus biomed company — those, which are spinning off Academia's casa nostra like the fleas off a well cared pet…

«What a tangled web they weave when first they practice to deceive…»

[DropBox archive to the story]

1. A year ago (Feb'17) CRG in Barcelona had ignored the conciliation officer`s proposal to accept that the dismissal was illegal and make things simple: i.e. to pay out a small fine (about one month wage) to me and to issue a document confirming that dismissal was illegal, their representative also told then that they needed the Court decision to make that small payment and they'd bring additional evidence. Below is this evidence.
   
   They've started with their style of menaces again, urging me to accept the following proposal: before the Court they admit that the dismissal was illegal and pay out that money, but in turn© I have to purge all materials on them I put online. They pay that symbolic fine, I clean, they go scot-free, as if nothing happened, as if they did nothing wrong and as if I am doing here even something criminal. If I do not accept this — they're to carry out their threats.
   I don't.
   I said no lies.
   
   What did kinda surprise me — that Catalan (Spanish) Court did not find anything abnormal in their menaces^*) neither noticed any contradiction in their proposal with its own decision.
   The judge had a look rather petulant by me declining their menaces — thus he had to proceed with hearing, get himself busy.
   All that looked quite really medieval to me…
   
   
2. On the Court hearing Luis Serrano, CRG Director, came to witness me «constantly refusing» to talk to his favorite, Maria Lluch-Senar.
   That was yet another sheer lie (unless just comical):
   I've updated the DropBox with the copies of correspondence which happened a month before my dismissal when I had to explain to M Lluch-Senar, biochemist, (© L. Serrano) how mass-spec really works (she tries to show up herself as if she understands it but pretty dumb to get a simple point). Finally, from the 3rd attempt, she gets it and even thanks me, reminding me one more time again that I'd be fired anyway. She's been obsessed repeating that in near every second her email with cc to Luis Serrano. I bet that seemed so sexy to her patron and sweet-heart.
   Chat between me and her is mentioned in the beginning of that correspondence. So the meeting was with me and her alone, at my initiative because in that case that did make sense.
   Luis Serrano was well aware of the meeting, he was in cc.
   In fact, I refused no meeting with his favorite. I've been just asking for assistance as she used to be damn blind, aggressive and incompetent, sabotaging any communication with the lab people and the colleagues involved in the project.
   Only once I refused her manipulations «if you want to talk… we can discuss» — I said I don't: she lied as if she looked at the app (all I was doing for them she kept calling «webpage» :)), there were nothing to discuss, she was unable to set a task for months and was reiterating what was already done (they both got hysterical after I said «I don't» then, although I could wait weeks for them just to look on what was going on with the project… — «ha-ha, Katerina wants to work!»).
   Another time it was «if you don't understand — come and ask» (another shiny feature of their culture is how they talk to people in general and to professionals in particular, this you can spot in their emails, see Dropbox — is it the EMBL's school too?… quite consistent with the EMBL…) 
   I said I have nothing to ask, I refused to recognize such scientific authority of the made-up biochemist, scientific authority, which they've started to claim after I complained to their set-up of Conflict Resolution Committee (I called for it, then they basely lied that this was them who called for it and I didn't obey it) — I was fired.
   You fill complaint about the incompetence and harassing from some person and they force you to recognize scientific \m/ authority of the very same person.
   This is how they make up their so called Conflict Resolution Committee...
   Nice, isn't it?
   
   
3. That wasn't the only lie he told the Court, also he lied about me unrelated to his starring in «I think what maria proposed does not make any sense» (see there also their vile intrigue and slandering to make up that 3 month term) — that was in fact said after me trying to explain Maria the same, but not that way directly. I just did not discarded her suggestion completely (that'd be too risky! but minding now Serrano's confession to the Court — see in DropBox Court's decision: his favorite reported on me unsuitable for her right around the same time!)
   The related email is now in the DropBox too, my actual boss was in cc and Luis Serrano was surely reacting on this correspondence.
   
   
4. The third lie:
   CRG attorney told the Court (and Luis Serrano repeated it) that I was given 3 months to follow discipline I allegedly violated.
   In fact, the next day after Serrano told me that his favorite M Lluch-Senar was my boss (yet another one, as I still had to ask my official boss for holidays and the like), less than 3 months before my dismissal, I've got a letter from her, that she had «talked with Luis and he said me that he has given you the opportunity to work for three months in the lab and to finish the project». That is I was told I'd be fired anyway. Serrano was in cc in that email (see in DropBox too).
   No way he didn't know, I was pointing on that assertion (that I'd be fired anyway) to the HR, Conflict resolution Committee.
   They didn't care, they served to M Lluch-Senar and her henpecked one like dogs, despite the law — «it'll be illegal and you can go to the Court then». Well, we'll kill you, what's the matter? — your relatives can go to our Court then (the Court won't find anything wrong in that).
   Luis Serrano, CRG Director, lied his face off to the Court.
   Their events fabrication was supported by no single legit document, proving their falsehood.
   
   Not to mention the repeated falsehood about Conflict Resolution Committee, implying that they called for it to make me obey them — yet another lie: who could think that my call for Conflict Resolution Committee they'd unscrupulously use for themselves….
   Not to mention the lies about the reason of my transfer to the Serrano lab:
   in order to mob and fire actually, as he explicitly confirmed himself — his favorite reports on me that she's unhappy to work with me, meanwhile, after her discussion with me he writes to several colleagues that her proposals, criticized by myself, make no sense — the best way of a corporate intrigant: he makes sure that she'd hate me, — and voilá: he transfers me to his lab and coerces me to talk to Sra. Lluch only alone.
   — Nice trick, isn't it?
   

   Later, on the Court hearing, he refers to this intrigue as if they had transferred me for the sake of discipline I allegedly violated. Before I even could have gotten to know who was my yet another boss whose scientific authority I had to obey or what could be that disobedience (apparently the logic isn't a Spanish/academic talent).

   Oh, yes, no word about corruption, let alone ignoble conduct of those who know no decency.
   True modern scientific leadership although with quite questionable practice, but who cares when it comes to money laundering so successfully sold out as that true research activity, right?
   Just givvus more money, we are saving humanity's health, kids from starvation, we are saving the Earth!! Preserve our strata whatever it takes (skip it now).

   Needless to say now that this Spanish Court did not give me the floor unless defendant party would have asked for it.
   Of course they were not interested to ask.

So this Spanish/Catalan Court has taken CRG Director's words as they are along with their dismissal notice (citing me «I have nothing to ask» as a reason to fire me) as a proof of my disobedience and made decision that my dismissal was legal.
You can enjoy reading on DropBox their decision: nothing from my part is even mentioned…
— yet another achievement of Spanish science and Social Justice ⚖️ in Spain/Catalunya… But thank Providence and post medieval (just neo-fascist?) world: otherwise I'd have been put on fire literally, in the Auto-da-fé / or shot dead by these franquists pokemons under the new brand of la nueva Alianza de Excelencia SOMM (Severo Ochoa y María de Maeztu — WTH is this clownacy?) and Whole-Cell Modelling. The latter is quite a fancy way to make friends and money with their US peers like Jonathan Karr and whoever else is so happy to support Spanish research misconduct to have grant money for their trips in EU from US… — sure they assure you that those Spanish scientists were just defamed. But look at the DropBox docs — they show up themselves: their style of doing science speaks for itself.

Story archive in Dropbox
Docs, story: CRG, Barcelona on Github

And the cherry on the cake:

I had to make waiting the reverend scientist and the Court for about an hour as I insisted on the interpreter being assisting me on the hearing (my Spanish isn't fluent):
that was my right they had failed to lock in on their own — thus that utterly corrupt fascist Spanish/Catalan Court did not give a damn whether I could even understand them.
At the end the Judge had rudely interrupted my attorney: no use to get into the subject, really. Everything was so clear in advance.
Otherwise it was just yet another routine Spanish way of showing their respect and culture, no worries.

Summarizing all this shame CRG/Barcelona Excellence™ in the anecdote:

Luis Serrano:
    — what maria proposed does not make any sense.
Maria:
    — she does not obey to do what I propose!
Luis Serrano & Maria Lluch-Senar:
(both very «con tensiones en la empresa por ello»):
    — you are fired!

Don't you ask yourself now:
why the hell the CRG in Barcelona, Luis Serrano Pubul, his mistress or work-wife, whatever) Maria Lluch-Senar — why did they feel necessity in all that execution-style spectacle?

Why were they unable to make things at least as civilized people would do when they didn't like each other: to dismiss me a decent way, by mutual agreement? — I didn't even ask for their money, I suggested that Luis Serrano the very next moment when his Maria promised me that I'd be fired anyway after he told me that I had to get along with her and the lab folk (they slandered I can work with no one, no one confirmed that to my knowledge), especially that the condition to get along with the lab folk was yet another fabrication: you can see it from the Court decision — Serrano claimed I had to obey to his favorite only.
— So, why this spectacle? why their Juan Valcarcel lied me, that I can go to the Court and their Court would decide that my dismissal was illegal?

---

*) artículo 169 del Código Penal of Spain: «Amenazas son un delito o una falta… el anuncio de un mal futuro ilícito que es posible… con la finalidad de causar inquietud o miedo…»
=
«Threats are a crime or a fault... the announcement of a bad illicit future that is possible ... with the purpose of causing concern or fear ...»

Style of doing science: FAQ on CRG, Barcelona and EMBL-EBI connection

After having known/read my experience in working for science (not real one, but so to say, science), my friends and colleagues keep asking me mainly these two questions: 

I. What happened at EMBL-EBI and why are these cases connected?

— Serrano lab used to be a part of EMBL System Biology Unit, apparently they foster phenotypes like that.

II. Why didn't you quit on your own once you realized that the environment in CRG, Barcelona, was so toxic?

— I did want to, my mistake was that I relied too much on a snitch, was mislead by a «good cop» (Luis Serrano's left hand, whereas his work-wife was a «bad cop») — they all were just a perfect match for each other.
I just could not believe I saw it all real and not in my sleep.

I could not accept the idea that the guy was just a cad.
Also, there was a tiny subjective reason… which kinda shadowed my objective assessment of the situation.

Here are the answers elaborated.

1. In April of 2013 my boss at EBI-EMBL reported on me to HR after I had used capital letters in one word of the working correspondence: that was the exclamation-like «WHAT?», — he said then that I was rude and impossible to collaborate with (indeed I wasn’t much collaborative in some sense, see below p.13).
   HR explains me that writing one word in email using capital letters is equal to shouting. But on the other hand she looks confused and keeps asking me whether I have something more to tell her. I don’t want to tell more.
   However, the project coordinator, who was the addressee of that my email, says in the presence of HR that she hasn't considered me rude and inconvenient to collaborate.
   Meanwhile I'm excluded from acknowledgement in inner EBI meetings concerning the project: up to the extent that they later say «all right, they took your results and presented them as their own, but they’ve had you acknowledged as they thanked Systems Microscopy consortium and you are a member of it» (nice, isn’t it?).
   
   
2. In June of 2013 all of the sudden my Dad falls down in a swoon and cannot walk well after getting back, I urgently come back home from the UK. My bosses are apprised.
   
   
3. On 25/06/13 my Dad passes away on my arms in a hospital after having tremendously suffered from the acute AAA rupture.
   =
   
4. Staying home on my vacations (they were approved) that summer and busy with documentations following the funeral I’m getting a quite boorish email from the project coordinator at EBI that I have to correct something in the code ASAP as she's preparing a paper (in fact the project wasn't ready then for the paper yet and that paper was later written by myself with the help of my boss of the later time).
   Also she writes me that my talk on the ISMB conference was prepared badly — it was very soon after the funeral, though she lied, almost the same talk was also given for the SM consortium spring meeting, later I could bring several references from both conferences proving her falsehood.
   She doesn't forget to note that she understands that I'm in a hard life situation.
   
   
5. I tell her to fuck off: not that words directly, of course, just that she's misbehaving and I won't read her emails until I’ll come back to work from my legit vacations.
   
   
6. When I come back I'm told that my contract is suspended for insubordination and unauthorized leave. The custom was that folks at EBI, including bosses, didn’t care much of vacation paperwork, spoken agreement was usually enough. I’m advised to leave the campus ASAP.
   
   
7. Being in the state of a catatonic stupor I do nothing for about a week, but a colleague meets me and brings EMBL-EBI’s docs and proves me that their actions against me were in contradictions with their own legislative papers. He urges me «Catherine, don’t stay like that, do something, go to a lawyer».
   
   
8. I go to the Cambridge Citizen Advice Bureau, they ask me questions like «Did you hack them? Did you steal something from them? Who is this employer?» and advise me to write and to call to the EMBL-EBI Head Office in Heidelberg, they also give me a list of lawyer addresses to visit.
   I follow their advice.
   
   
9. Next day after my contact with EMBL-EBI HO the Head of Administration at EBI calls me, apologizes for the suspension of the contract and invites me back to work.
   
   
10. All my email/servers etc credentials are withdrawn, I spend some time to get some of that back, but not everything. I’m implicitly hinted that they are prepared to give me an EOC agreement (End of Contract).
    I write to EMBL-EBI Head Office again.
    
    
11. Administrative Director of EMBL, Keith Williamson at that time, comes to the UK to talk to me. It turns out that he’s mislead about the project which they declare as accomplished (it was just a stupid lie, I wonder how further they’d report about it).
    After my talk with him I’m fully restored in my rights.
    They recognize that everything is fine with my holidays, I was wrongly accused in insubordination and unauthorized leave, though no apologies now, except spoken ones from Keith (he was the one who at least seemed a gentleman in all that story).
    
    
12. I’m invited for a chat in the EBI Director office (Ewan Birney) along with my boss and his proxy on R&D tasks. I’m told that I have «questionable personal qualities» (btw, ad hominem is the most beloved fallacy and trick of rogue scientists — Birney repeats the same after my boss) and this is me, who had a lesson now and must comply with their way of doing R&D.
    
    
13. I write another email to the EMBL Head Office with cc to my boss and Birney where I ask (at last) why is that me who has «questionable personal qualities», why was I bullied, why did all this happen after my boss didn’t have me responsive to his invitation to private bike rides (and to have a look together on concert posters, — but I don't mention that), I claim for fair employment practice — that was completely ignored, I also ask to change the person who authorizes my leaves — that was accepted after the investigation, see below.
    
    
14. I get a response from Director General of EMBL, Iain Mattaj, where he implies that the bullying was alleged but that I dared to accuse my boss in sexual harassment and that all needs to be investigated.
    
    
15. I reply that I didn’t say that the conduct of my boss was a sexual harassment per se, all I asked: the explanations of the bullying and I mentioned him hitting on me in that context.
    This my reply was ignored.
    
    
16. I’ve never got any explanation. I was told off that I brought forward the accusation of sexual harassment with no reason. I was made guilty for the mention of the fact that my boss had hit on me and then bullied me.
    
    
17. However, Iain Mattaj apologized for the bullying itself, he even used a word «harassment» in his apologies. After the investigation I’ve got the apology letter from him where he enlightens me that I took the suspension of my contract, accusation in unauthorized leave and removal of all my credentials at work etc for the bullying because my father passed away right before that.
    All the rest was just fine.
    Basically, he didn't apologize for the damage itself, he apologized that I felt damaged.
    Yet better that way, than nothing.
    He also generously spared me from a discipline sentence for my alleged accusation in sexual harassment™ of my boss.
    Nice, isn’t it?
    Although they’ve swapped my boss for his proxy and that was the second gentleman in all that story (minding top level).
    
    
18. After getting that hysterical email from Maria Lluch-Senar — Luis Serrano tandem at CRG 
    (I was surprised, really: Luis himself never was that verbose with English that poor, didn't used ES layout, although this didn't matter: NB — they used ad hominem again, but that was just only Maria's personal way to communicate her problems: 
    «if I do not want to take even an effort to get into your app's functionality — this is your problem, that I have difficulties understanding you» in reply on my rebuttal to her manipulations and lies…)
     
    — I asked Luis Serrano to behave fairly and that I wouldn’t be just silent and shocked, I’d been prepared by this case at EMBL («you are guilty if I'm rude with you and even if I breach our own protocols and rules» — their MO). 
    Maria used to imitate work activity while getting disrespectful and aggressive without any attempt to follow the elementary guidance, like — how to load heavy data (she couldn't use even corporate FTP properly instead of corporate emails, when it was absolutely necessary due to the type of data being transferred… and every time you were guilty with any her problems below any professional qualification!)  
    Although, Serrano lab used to be a part of System Biology unit of EMBL, they had to follow their rules:
    «maintaining a culture based on the principles of good scientific practice, throughout the Laboratory and in their respective Units».
    
    
    I believed that they had to follow that at least to the degree that EMBL was able to (appologizing a bit afterwords as «ah, we'are sorry you've feeled that way» — not for the damage itself, of course).
    But Luis Serrano, once the Head of EMBL systems biology Unit and CRG Director, president of SOMMa (some local Spanish Network of Excellence™) said me that he didn't care. Literally:
    «I don't care, we are at CRG here, we have nothing to do with EMBL».
    All right.
    Those were their good scientific practice.
    See also about how they have been forcing me to work with their Maria alone (that was so creepy…)
    
    
    
19. Shortly after this email exchange (where I was trying to get free from the creepy situation) and direct threats to be fired (but with «a lot of money» — yet another dishonesty from the CRG's Director) I apprised Luis Serrano that under the conditions he put on me I’d better quit on my own at the end of the year. Naturally!
    
    
    They ignored that, apparently that was not a way to bring them satisfaction (however they did try to fire me first as if following my wish: they prepared papers for that by the end of October to fire me in a couple of weeks after that, see below their lies about 3-months term to make me obeying to the Director's favorite).
    
    
20. But then, in the end of September'2016, they were just about to go to their lab retreat, Serrano wrote me that my presence there would be «awkward» and it’s up to me to go or not, I did not want to go to their retreat, I was preparing to quit anyway.
    But a colleague asked me to come, she also assured me in her support (instead, she started to coercing me to hypocrisy and simulations, allegedly she was suffering from Maria domination and manipulations but turned out to be just a snitch for Serrano).
    Better I’d never seen that part of their specific culture at that retreat (so freaking lowbrow level even ignoring complains of other guests of the resort).
    That was awkward.
    Indeed, shortly before the retreat Luis Serrano accused me that I can work with no one, whereas I had no communications and collaborations with his people by that time — his Maria just cut communications with Serrano lab's folks by any means.
    No one in my lab confirmed the falsehood of me unable to collaborate: I was working in another lab and Serrano—Lluch-Senar were about to move me to their lab, allegedly for better collaboration.
    In fact I was alienated from any collaboration in Serrano lab: instead Serrano had been forcing me to talk to his favorite only alone.
    Later Luis Serrano lied to the Court that they had transferred me to make me follow the discipline I have allegedly violated.
    
    If they feel better on the way they have chosen: lying, threatening, making their research labs the places of so toxic ambiance with no respect, no open discussion, licking asses, making folks lick asses, humiliating them, snitching on each other, where even their own written code of good scientific practice is violated,
    — it's up to them.
    
    Below are the other parts of the story.

CRG, Barcelona, Spanish/Catalan science: yet another way to carry out research activity (and lies even to the Court)

Update after Catalan Court hearing:
Luis Serrano, CRG Director, lied to the Court

«There is one single problem with spanish, as José Ortega y Gasset explains so well: "no code of honor". No rules, nothing... In other countries also you will find people without code of honor, the vast majority, but there are others that they do have, a percentage. In Spain that percentage is so small that can be considered non existing. No matter the social level, you can't trust them. … Emotionally speaking, are most of them broken. This is why they are impulsive, they call that "hot blood", but the real meaning is lack of emotional intelligence, they are ruled by impulses.» [The Spanish Personality]

Here are the threats of legal persecution I've got from CRG, Barcelona, signed by Managing Director Bruna Vives on behalf of the Centre and Luis Serrano, CRG Director. Look at the Centre for Genomic Regulation at their finest in intimidating and disrespect.
My notes are below the copies (clickable to enlarge).

Spanish version:

1. Here we have a classical actus reus.
2. This threatening from CRG, Barcelona under the claim to keep «professional secrecy» (are these people even sane?) and «confidentiality», i.e. the claim to keep silence about their excellence in research misconduct, followed by these threats where I'm named as «and / or» doing even something «criminal», — look like fit of anger unless just laughable. They are supposed to represent a Spanish intellectual elite, aren't they?
3. Solely this claim to keep their threats confidential (see also the bottom of the pages) should be enough to launch the investigation on the activity of the top employees of CRG, including here-below mentioned favorite of Luis Serrano, CRG Director (ah, all right… she's supposed to be on the top anyway…).
4. NDA (appendix to the work contract) I signed, concerned the contract in force or expired.
   My contract is not expired or in force: it was interrupted (terminated — as they've recognized it themselves in their threat) by CRG, Barcelona due to alleged disobedience to another employee who was not even my immediate superior, the latter was silently dismissed from being such, excluded from the working process and substituted by incompetent, but badly ambitious and passively aggressive Director's favorite, Maria Lluch-Senar, as a «co-leader» of the project with so peculiar correspondence style (how come that such individuals can even get MS and even PhD in Spain? do they colourize their thesis that way too?)
5. I was slandered and mobbed by this M Lluch-Senar, CRG staff scientist (intensively supported by her patron, Luis Serrano, CRG Director in whatever she's been saying about me) several times, she announced me that I'd be dismissed anyway the very next day after she was set as my boss by Luis Serrano.
   Luis Serrano was persistently coercing me, in written too, to talk only alone with his favorite (who by the way is craving for a PI position and her henpecked one is desperate to help her as no one wants her in this.. hum.. another role). I called for CRG's Conflict Resolution Committee (and then they concocted the facts presenting them as if it was them who called for the Committee), — the Committee has completely ignored my complains and followed Luis Serrano's non-negotiable instructions forcing me to recognize scientific authority of his favorite, who persistently lied about my personality, aggressively refusing to get or accept any technical reasoning out of her competence.
   Moreover.
   She was misleading me with data sources and urging me to work with erroneous data concocted by herself.
   I said no.
   I was given «24 hours» to confirm my response.
   I was fired by the end of the same week.
6. CRG was already clearly told off about the neglect of their duty and reputation — they have completely disrespected the words of the conciliation officer, they have even refused to present themselves directly on the hearing.
   They had given no care to their reputation then and now suddenly they have recalled and decided to take care about it, starting with threats, apparently from the bottom of their hearts and their notion of what the (academic) culture is.
   Surely they don't just perform only a bare money laundering using their positions in Spanish science.
   Now they claim that one of their former, thrown out on the streets, employee is damaging their «honour» or «reputation» even «with the intention».
   
   
   Dear CRG, Luis and Bruna,
   • If it's possible for you to put a word «or» between «honour» and «reputation» which you claim you have (after you have lied so dishonourably) — then, obviously, only an upper authority could explain you something about what honour and reputation are: it seems you're still uncertain about these entities. No wonder you have failed to keep them intact.
     You did it on your own.
     No one has forced you to behave like you have.
     Paraphrasing Bertolt Brecht («Vertrauen wird dadurch erschöpft, daß es in Anspruch genommen wird»), your honour and reputation begin to vanish the very moment you claim you have them damaged the way you do it, — especially after you were utterly unable to display at least a minimum respect to your employee, let alone the kind of integrity you have shown as pertinent to you.
     My story is just a shadow on the sand in the background of your behaviour and culture. I'm too small comparing to your own self-exposure.
     «We trust that your knowledge, skills and experience will be among our most valuable assets» — remember the text of your offer? — you gave no respect to any of thus enumerated (by your own) qualities. That's why the only point you could use to attack me with your misconduct was a «discipline».
     Which is ridiculous since you do not have any notion of what it is.
     Not to mention work ethics.
   • I don't damage your «honour or reputation» as you claim «with the intention».
     I speak out, that's it.
   And of course I would only greet an independent open investigation of your professional activity and of its compliance with your own Code of Good Scientific Practice. 
   Even then I doubt that it could depreciate your significance and self-worth acquired with such diligence by your so creative advertising of your excellence, with your passionate appeal for money throughout your much more conspicuous networking, connections, pulls and of course… well… social network accounts. 
   Just don't stop disseminate food & drinks for your subscribers and sponsors as you used to do it: to make sure they would love your excellent science. 
   And, Bruna, seriously… I am so sorry, but having known now the story of your appointment, this your threatening burofax speech looks like a sincere coming out, especially when it's read in Spanish. But of course, of course, it's not how it looks like.

All the corresponding docs on CRG/Barcelona's research misconduct, mobbing and lies are on GitHub or DropBox.
Given the whole story I reckon that the above text is not too harsh and I apologize if someone's sensitive feelings are touched, —
Katerina aka Catherine

Excellence™ by Luis Serrano & Maria Lluch-Senar: plain summary of what happened in CRG, Barcelona.

Firing for disobedience from CRG in Barcelona, scientific institution of Excellence: how scientists demand obedience and recognition of their scientific authority, some very certain scientific authority: after having claimed to recognize the scientific authority of his favorite, his Excellency Director of CRG Luis Serrano, got refusal (in particular, because his favorite used to concoct data before processing).
But the resistance to filthy data manipulation was oppressed — inconvenient for them rebel computer scientist was fired.

Here are some notes of a computer scientist's experience (Mar'2016 — Dec'2016) who was very near to get a TBI^*) while working with M Lluch-Senar, CRG's staff scientist.

The latter woman-in-science™ has been advancing her scientific career servicing to Luis Serrano, CRG Director, for his private needs, which, however extraneous or ugly it may look like, hands down should not be whoever else's business unless well-being of another persons and research integrity were drastically affected and put in a shambles.

In previous posts you can see mainly inside description (with the copies of emails and other documents) of the working and firing process performed within the walls of «an international biomedical research institute of excellence» — i.e. CRG, EMBL outstation in Barcelona: the torture of mobbing and lies with yet hardly believable outcome (how it was staged) lasted for several months.
(Court hearing was scheduled in a year, for the end of Jan, 2018 as this was in Spain, so very apt country for misconduct being unabated).

The only excuse for so direct summary of what happened is that the nature of Maria Lluch-Senar's job at CRG and peculiar success is of no secret within those walls, also due to quite open demonstration of this woman in science™ deep connection, way far being really intellectual, with her patron, accompanied by «the closest person, his right hand, she can get fired anyone» (indeed! not to mention full access to CRG director's desktop…), so forth interesting confessions and blatant research misconduct with lies and spreadsheets manipulation.

On May'2017 I've got no surprise from these threats of legal persecution from CRG, Barcelona (very consistent with their cultural peculiarities).

It's worth to mention, that all this shame is silently supported and even sponsored with millions of € grants both by EMBL (European Molecular Biology Laboratory) and ERC (European Research Council)

Story archive in Dropbox

---

*) Traumatic Brain Injury

Luis Serrano, CRG, forces to talk alone with Maria Lluch Senar and… a certain «indicator, a precursor and a result of» corruption

(yes, that was spooky!)
…whereas what Maria Lluch proposes «does not make any sense» © Luis Serrano, CRG director
(and that was very true)
This is all about scientific institution. This is where your tax money goes to…

How much money, for instance? — see here (H2020) in general,
more exactly: €2,454,522: ERC-2014-ADG grant [1]
So the DB for Mycoplasma project should have been funded from this money…

First, ask yourself: what would you do if a blatant liar aggressively required from you recognition of her scientific authority (whereas it's way far to be even necessary)?
And what if she were fully supported by her patron?

CRG is «an international biomedical research institute of excellence»

CRG mission, vision and values:
«Integrity, ethics and social responsibility»

Oops! Really?? Dictation to process concocted data, coercion to talk only alone (that was felt very awkward) with someone allegedly responsible, but utterly incompetent, work without necessary collaboration, repeated threats, bullying, slandering, repeated lies, and dismissal at the end — was this all included in that «integrity», «ethics» and «social responsibility»?

«Now I did a job. I ain't got nothing but trouble since I did it... not to mention more than a few unkind words as regard to my character. So let me make this abundantly clear» © Firefly

Luis Serrano Pubul: «I think what maria proposed does not make any sense»
A few months later the very same person fired the main addressee of this letter for refusal to recognize the same maria's scientific authority... — interesting, isn't it?

On 06/07/16 18:39, Luis Serrano Pubul wrote:

> Dear Katerina
> Could we meet next week [...]?
> I think what maria proposed to connect directly to the MS raw data or sequencing data does not make any sense.
 
All right. Very true. But wait, what?
Luis Serrano Pubul: «You need to leave the lab if you do not talk with her alone»:

On 15/11/16 10:26, Luis Serrano Pubul wrote:

> Katerina I can try to be there, but remember what we discussed if you cannot work with Maria and you cannot talk with her alone you need to leave the lab end of December. She is your boss for the project.
> Thanks
> Luis
>
> From: Katerina Kirsanоva
> Sent: martes, 15 de noviembre de 2016 10:21 a.m.
> Cc: Luis Serrano Pubul
> Subject: Re:
>
> Dear Luis,
> I wouldn't like to discuss it with Maria tete-a-tete, please.
> I just need the doc file with specification on the formats.
>
> Cheers, -
> Catherine
> El 11/15/16 a las 07:45, Maria Lluch Senar escribió:
>> Hi Katerina
>> We can talk about MS files at 16,30. Is it ok for you?

Of course they perfectly knew that Katerina could talk alone with Maria.
But when you're threatened and coerced to talk alone with someone no matter what is going on and no matter whether your job requires work collaboration — this feels flat out wrong, at very least it makes you just sick. Moreover, if you're already absolutely certain: you cannot give them what they are eager to get from you — and that is not your job and professional skills.

K. was doomed anyway, Luis was playing here as by the time of this his email, several weeks before it, M Lluch-Senar already wrote K. that K. would be fired anyway:

On 28/09/16 14:23, Maria Lluch Senar wrote:
> I have talked with Luis and he said me that he has given you the opportunity to work for three months in the lab and to finish the project.
[NB: K. had 5 years contract signed by Luis Serrano on behalf of CRG, it turned out to be just a sheet of paper. No respect to a person whatsoever, neither to their own legislation]

Maria wrote that (with cc to CRG Director, i.e. Luis Serrano Pubul) the very next day after K. was told that Maria was her boss since then and on: the day before this email, on 27/09/16, Luis told K. in his office that for K. to save her job he gave her 3 months to get along 1) with Maria and 2) with the people in the lab — as at the same time K. was falsely accused that she can work with no one (NB: Katerina had been just moved to the Serrano lab), — i.e.:
if K. gets along with no one then K. is fired.

In reality both these two so nice «warrants» were put away almost immediately.
«There's no honor among thieves» (even «end of December» was a lie… — turned out be the middle of December)
K. had no problems whatsoever with the folks in the labs, that was too obvious, but certainly did not matter: apparently Maria was already promised that after 3 months «the toy» would be discarded.

From Library of the European Parliament, «Conflicts of interest in public administration», 05/02/2013: Isn't it piquant:

Chair of Women In Science/Gender Balance Committee at CRG,
Isabelle Vernos is at the same time…
— Director's (Luis Serrano's) wife & member of the ERC Scientific Council!

Hence the party looks even more languishing: there is a certain «an indicator, a precursor and a result of» corruption.

CRG Director's wife, his miss-stress or other closed to him more than others women-in-science — all of them surely have gotten the unquestionable scientific awards and perks: panels, committees, conference trips, etc — you know how creatively and productively modern scientists spend public money, — having such kind of pull is apparently normal for Spain or Spanish science. But for an outside observer the question remains: what exactly those Women In Science™ were awarded for?
Otherwise, unless it's a corruption. What is that?
Franco style (á la féminin) of management and profiting from science?
Hard to bring up other allusions…

All right, in reality Franco was adhered to the family values otherwise, more traditional way.
This case was an advanced modern version of Spanish neo-franquist modus operandi. Kinda harem way (or alfonsish way.. depending on the perspective.. lol) , surely with the greatest respect to the wives, so worth women with their financial or otherwise depending servants at their also very traditional service. But traditional otherwise. Epitome of women in science and men at women, in their ways to serve. For science, of course. You'd rather dream to join them!

More picante details on the family bounds (see the thread)…

Corruption prospects this way: Conflict Resolution Committee turned out to be a farce...

performed for Maria Lluch-Senar & Luis Serrano at CRG.
See here who has actually called for the Committee. This yet another example of how academia is corrupt and CRG (Center for Gemonic Regulation) in Barcelona is corrupt in particular.
Then see how they put it in their dismissal notice below, even how they put it in the second edition of the same document. So mean. And such a shame for the prominent lecturer on ethic subjects in science.

First his «co-leader» of the project excludes you from any work collaboration, then slanders that you «can work with no one» and then he completely supports that slander — so nice, isn't it? 

But indeed it was just a part of their freak show:
«A non-negotiable requirement from Luis, i.e. that Catherine must recognize the scientific authority of Maria as co-leader of the project and work under her direct supervision, remains unacceptable for Catherine. Therefore the Conflict Resolution Committee has been unable to find a common ground for understanding between the parts on this key issue and regretfully concludes that a conciliation process is not possible under the current conditions»
(email from the Committee of 13/12/16 10:40, see it in DropBox… keep in mind that initially K. was working in another lab and by the time of this clown commissioners were playing their part she still was under another subordination).
At no point this coercion was really necessary for their MycoSynVac project. Quite on the contrary, looking at its history: it was harmful for it. Indeed it was just a real plot for research misconduct. 

And of course this, along with the fact who actually called for the Committee was not quoted in their dismissal notice.
They dishonorably used this Committee just to make it part of the concocted evidence of insubordination.
Ignored email: really, it was just hopeless

Subject: Re: NCBI's starts/ends...
Date: Thu, 1 Dec 2016 17:39:09 +0100

Dear all,
Please discuss the format in open and constructive manner.
As there is a strict standardization and DB processing rule «Excel is forbidden» (see: here was a pic forwarded later, see below)
the format should be a reasonable amounts of tab-separated text files uploaded one-by-one.
Each of this text files should not exceed 10Mb to be uploaded and processed in a reasonable time.
Each column of each file should be described in detail.
File names should have meaning and described in details otherwise text field in the upload interface should be filled in.
Current processing and analysis is done for 2-spreadsheet Excel files (no more than 10Mb of size) as a trade-off for accurate format description (done by Luis) of a standard files of results coming from a proteomics experiment and my good will to make all my best for the lab.
Processing of Excel files into the DB with analysis on the fly is not a common practice and generally is not accepted due to obstruct capacity to support the standards and analysis as consistent and reasonable prompt.
So CSV only (XML/JSON for those biologists who want die hard is an option too).
However, once the standard is created and described the way it was done by Luis and with the participation/by a professional IT specialist it is still possible to make sure that service is scalable and reliable.
Thanks, —
Catherine

— this is the referenced pic of the outstanding cruelty (actually called the extreme despair), and K. was summoned to the Administrative Director office then, and then of course K. apologized to the only one affected poor kid…
Mean-spirited souls know no humor. They are capable only in mobbing and concocting.

A year later Luis Serrano, CRG director lied even to the Court about who has called for the Conflict Resolution Committee and what for.

María Lluch-Señar & Luis Serrano at CRG, Barcelona: lies, damned lies and dismissal notice

Dismissal notice (the same day got, the same day fired)
Conflict Resolution Committee of the CRG was called by Katerina, not by Maria Lluch-Senar & Luis Serrano, as they so basely imply it in their dismissal notice (see below).
Also in this document they have actually just repeated their slander — see as well in the time line schema: «no one can work with you, you have bad communication with everyone» — this was said to Katerina in September as their reply on her question: why they wanted her to move in the lab if they asserted that she was so bad as a person?

They asserted this shit («no one can work with you») once she had agreed to move in their lab in July: she was told then that they wanted her to move because they needed for her expertise. Would you agree to move in the lab when you're told that you can work with no one? The last trip up was especially nice from them whereas initially M Lluch-Senar had excluded Katerina from any communications with data providers even though it was an utter requirement for the tasks which Katerina had to perform.
So she was working alone and had to figure on her own what were the data sources, and, surely, everything was fine with the other colleagues, no communication problems, just normal lab folks, who have been just helpful and nice. Otherwise, without them, the project could not move at all. But it has moved, please see its timeline: at no point that progress owed to Maria Lluch's activity, which was appallingly destructive.

Also in CRG's dismissal notice they have lied explaining the reason for the dismissal as if it was a repeated insubordination to Maria Lluch-Senar, i.e. to the favorite of Luis Serrano, CRG Director. She was not even an official boss of K., she was only set up as such after already having been set up as a project co-coordinator (exclusively by the authority of her patron). Yet right before Luis Serrano has appointed this M Lluch Senar to be a boss for K. (with no documents, no signatures of course), this Maria Lluch-Senar slandered about K. that K. could work with no one.
And immediately after announcing her slander M Lluch Senar wrote to K. that the latter would be fired anyway. Nice, isn't it?

The truth is that firstly it was repeated harassment, slander and repeated lies.
Maria's misconduct and incompetence, imposed as her «scientific authority» and unaccepted by K. (and the acceptance of that was not her duty at all), K's refusal to give in to data manipulation had that cost: the dismissal.

— it turned out they were too shy to speak English in this disgraceful act, K. had got it only in Spanish.
However later CRG, Barcelona gave a care to translate their threats in English (international scientific institution of excellence) — it seems for them it was really important that K. would have gotten those threats.

Research miscoduct and the dismissal notice, how CRG quotes the sources

Full text of the email they quote in their dismissal notice:

Subject: Re: MS data
Date: Tue, 29 Nov 2016 15:20:49 +0100
Dear Maria,
I am sorry, I cannot comment on this.
I expect you respect your colleagues and able to communicate in a calm and professional manner by email and in person.
I see you do not understand the standardization subject and I am very able to prove it to a professional commission if its needed.
I also clearly see that you are getting passively aggressive and disrespectful, you are trying to undermine me on my professional field which is ridiculous and unacceptable. I think you have to apologize.
So I am sorry, I have nothing to ask you in person.
Regards, —
Catherine

[DropBox archive to the story with the emails exported to PDFs]

— this was reply to Maria's email quoted here-above (where our rock star Women-in-Science© got red font yelling (or blushing)).

(signatures, my & by Bruna Vives Prat, CRG managing director, are dimmed)

Eso es me suena a franquismo!

The actual reason for the dismissal: you «must recognize the scientific authority of Maria as co-leader of the project and work under her direct supervision alone» otherwise you are fired. No one else should witness their research misconduct and data manipulation.

Let alone senseless orders to reformat data export files just to keep you busy («new formatting did not matter, your 1st version was absolutely fine» — a colleague commented while working with that file).

This is how these cool scientists spend public money and do science nowdays.
They send murky messages with messy content, several files of >10Mb sent by email, «new format» © Maria Lluch Senar represented by two >100Mb Excel files with 15 spreadsheets each with hand-made copy-paste — to process all this shit into the DB.
Then they harass a professional who tries to explain how the data should have been processed. And these are just ordinary examples from a routine intellectual work process (paid by public money) of a rock star scientist with «I have many publications» — yet another shining clause of M Lluch-Senar intellectual argumentation.

This rock star scientist which is unable to create on her own a single document (without her patron) or a literate email. The same so gifted person is unable to make a tiny bit effort to grasp one simple thing: what the standards for datafile procession are. Whatever you're trying to explain her, however you try to reach for her mind — «in turn» © this person just harasses you and keeps claiming for recognition of her poor scientific authority.

Remarkably all the harassment supplemented by these wretched claims were fully supported by the top manager of the scientific institution.
Intellectual reasoning? Logical reasoning? Whatever fair damn reasoning?
Come on, bow and scrape and thank Universe, that these so great scientists could not call for the authorized science gestapo to help them out: they have only fired you because you had dared to question the authority of a really cool scientist whose favorite trip up in reply on any reasoning on the subject was just: «If you cannot do this work let us know and we will look for another way to do that».
Which was exceptionally ridiculous for this really cool scientist because «them» had no clue whatsoever about any way how their data could be processed in particular and how the scientific data are usually processed into the DB as that was not their expertise whatsoever. But surely «they» had authority to impose on you any by-products from «their» so beautiful minds.
Because. You. Cannot. Period.
— intellect, culture, work ethic here are so blatantly demonstrated that you just lose the gift of speech…

Why the data analyst has been coerced to work with concocted data and had been denied the direct contact with the data producers?
Why that so damn bright scientist who, as we're sure, is Maria Lluch, — why she was so eager to interfere between the data and a data analyst, why the hell she had to concoct that shameful hand made copy-paste Excel spreadsheets (tens megabytes), which she was unable/unwilling to put in a group repository and thus sent it by email, instead of allowing the professional to work with the data sources directly?
MS data were already processed into the DB according to the format, suggested by the project leader, Luis Serrano, Director of CRG — why this very format was refuted by his favourite and why Luis Serrano, Director of CRG had to obey M Lluch-Senar and why did he let her make dirty manipulations with data?
Why on the Earth she's been so craving for that bow and scrape?
How the hell do they spend public money then? — they hire a professional, then perform their mobbing actions against her attacking her purely on personal ground, gaslighting and slandering about her relations with other colleagues with nonsense allegations (because there is no other way to attack her) for several months and at the end just fire her after more than 9 months without giving her any credit for the job she's been doing for them.
Is it a Franquist style of modernized Spanish science or what??
And at the and — why the Staff Scientist Maria Lluch Senar and the CRG Director Luis Serrano Pubul had to lie so shamelessly?
These are fairly good questions.
And finally, how come the path of the apparent scientific misconduct was the easiest choice for them?…

picture is taken from this article on scientific misconduct: Scientific misconduct & its effect on the medical literature
(as much as it affects biomed sciences)

Here is my twitter account: @JWapatoo where I post current updates on this case and my relaxed attitude, i.e. after me being put under pressure and stress, it is naturally personalized unlike expressed as such while I am on duty where I'm restrained by professional standing rules and contract clauses.

«You should be stressed as you are still in initial closely watched period»
© Julia Ponomarenko
(4 months after start of the contract… + «you have to satisfy Luis» — publicly, several times, in the same context: «do you care too much what people say about you?» — nice vibrant and so motivating working atmosphere, isn't it?)

So these people don't even give a damn about the fact that a professional engineer, doing brainwork, can be only either productive or stressed.
Never both. Obviously, if quality results are to be provided.
Or, there is no need for data integrity in all this so playful scientific ambiance?
Or, these scientists — do they use their own brain for professional purposes? 

P.S. CRG, represented by its Director Luis Serrano and PI Juan Valcarcel, do support scientific fraud of their PI MP Cosma — please see by these links an article of Leonid Schneider and PubPeer comments.

 

They do their best to follow the fashion:

 

 

— see the press release on CRG web-site about yet another biotech company Pulmobiotics to hack your health under the selling moto «we're saving lives» or/and yet another money laundry by Barcelona based InVivo Capital's operations.