Research misconduct and breach of ethics

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 reputat...

Showing posts with label women-in-science. Show all posts
Showing posts with label women-in-science. Show all posts

Monday, March 27, 2017

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.


Research misconduct is not uncommon in Spain

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

Friday, January 13, 2017

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»
Mission of CRG (Centre for Genomic Regulation in Barcelona)
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.

Luis Serrano's wife, Isabelle Vernos, corruption, CRG, Barcelona, ERC: European Research Counsil, Conflict of interest
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)…