Renowned cancer researcher leaves ICR over bullying allegations
pharmafile | July 17, 2018 | News story | Research and Development |
Leading geneticist and cancer researcher, Nazneen Rahman CBE, has resigned from her position as head of Genetics and Epidemiology at the London-based Institute of Cancer Research, following multiple allegations of bullying dating back 12 years.
The Guardian has reported that Professor Rahman was given leave of absence last November after a letter signed by 45 current and former employees accused her of “serious recurrent bullying and harassment”. Twenty-two of the signatories claimed to have experienced direct bullying while a further 23 claimed that they had witnessed incidents of bullying and harassment.
A spokesperson for the ICR commented in a statement that: “We can confirm we received allegations of bullying against a member of our staff. We take any complaints about bullying extremely seriously, and immediately commissioned an independent investigation into the allegations by a respected law firm. The staff member was on leave of absence during this process.”
He continued: “We reviewed the findings of the investigation and discussed them with the staff member. The staff member decided to resign and will be leaving the ICR.”
The letter claimed that Rahman’s behaviour had caused “serious” psychological harm and career damage and that her behaviour had cultivated an “intimidating, hostile” working environment.
The letter further said: “The ICR is a world-class research institute which employs exceptional researchers united in making the discoveries that defeat cancer. Each of us felt privileged to be appointed by the ICR and to be given the opportunity to contribute to this endeavour. Sadly, many of us left our employment at the ICR psychologically damaged and disillusioned.”
Rahman, an internationally renowned expert in her field, was named as Britain’s third most influential women in the BBC Woman’s Hour power list in 2014. She was also awarded the Services to Science and Engineering award at the British Muslim Awards in 2016 and given a CBE for services to medical science in the same year.
However complainants claimed that the ICR had failed to adequately address allegations made against the top cancer researcher over a number of years. Rahman, who is also a singer-songwriter, will leave the ICR at the end of October. She said to The Guardian: “I am sorry the group feel this way. I want to make it clear that following the investigation there were no disciplinary findings against me. And the decision to resign was mine and mine alone.”
An ICR spokesperson added that “We recognise we could have done more to support those who came to us with concerns and are absolutely committed to learning the lessons. In addition to the changes we have already made, we are reviewing the investigation findings in detail and will be implementing further recommendations in full,”
He further commented that: “An open and supportive working environment is essential for our work to defeat cancer. We have put in place a series of measures to ensure we respond to allegations as quickly and effectively as possible. These include revising our policy on bullying and harassment, providing an external hotline for reporting of complaints, and effective information sharing within the ICR.”
Louis Goss
