Constantine Stratakis, a geneticist and pediatrician who was to become executive director and chief scientific officer of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center in June, has withdrawn from the position, Science reports.
It notes that Stratakis's decision comes after it published allegations last week that while he oversaw intramural research at the US National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Stratakis discriminated against female researchers there, affecting their careers. Science reported at that time, for instance, that eight women at NICHD filed equal employment opportunity complaints against him between 2013 and 2019.
As Science now reports, Stratakis was to move to RI-MUHC, but earlier this week, senior women at the institute penned a position statement calling on the board of directors to reconsider its job offer. Stratakis, it says, then withdrew, citing "circumstances beyond his and his family's control [that] forced him to reconsider their future."
Stratakis has denied the allegations and said in a statement to Science that the "NICHD intramural program is highly supportive of women scientists."
The agency tells CTV that it disagrees with some of the conclusions of the Science article and that "NICHD supports an organizational culture in which women scientists are leaders and are acknowledged and celebrated for their accomplishments."