A lecturer who in 2008 helped to topple the house of cards surrounding a top researcher at the University of Copenhagen was subsequently sacked. This is according to the Danish section of this news site Universitetsavisen.dk.
Students and employees at the faculty who have spoken to the media suspect that her dismissal was related to her taking action on the top researcher's alleged fraud.
In a featured column in the Jyllands-Posten daily relating to this specific case, health professor Jens Christian Jensenius questions whether the university can be trusted in this and other cases.
Cannot write the name
»The scientist who reported the fraud was later fired. Can we hope for a proper treatment from the university in cases like this?,« he asks.
The media are barred by court order from divulging the name of the top researcher in this case which is under appeal.
The dismissed lecturer's former department head at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences rejects the notion that her dismissal was University of Copenhagen revenge for her refusal to stop the police case.
Tried to blame student assistant
»It has nothing to do with the case. This is pure fabrication,« he says. »We had to find a number of persons due to the cuts, and we had to look at the Faculty as a whole and find out which people it was easiest to do without.«
The top researcher who was reported to the police was also the treasurer of the private scientific association, and was employed as a scientist at the Faculty of Health Sciences. Efforts were made at this Faculty to avoid a police case when the fraud was discovered in 2008 according to a story recently reported on this site.
The fraud case was not stopped in spite of the efforts of the Faculty. Instead it emerged that the top researcher had attempted to place the blame for the fraud on a 24-year old male student assistant. The student assistant was able to clear his name.
Top researcher rewarded, promoted
He was, according to the Universitetsavisen, shocked to find that the top researcher could continue in her position in spite of being behind the false allegations. The top researcher was only dismissed in 2010.
Before that the researcher had received a prestigious scientific prize on the university recommendation and was promoted.
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Comments
Not named?
It is all too obvious who this top researcher is... When will all the drama end? It is beginning to be an embarrassment!
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