WIKIMEDIA, BRENT - UCLAThe American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) had elected Patrick Harran, a biochemist at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), to join its prestigious club of fellows in 2015. But upon further review—specifically, of the death of a technician in a 2008 fire in Harran’s lab—AAAS rescinded the nomination.
“On December 18, the AAAS Council approved the Chemistry Section steering group’s request to conduct a complete re-evaluation of Dr. Harran’s nomination after it became apparent that an initial review of nomination materials had not included all relevant information,” AAAS announced in a statement this week (December 22).
Harran’s selection to become a AAAS fellow was met with criticism. Family members of Sheharbano “Sheri” Sangji, who was killed in the lab fire, said in a letter to AAAS, “no principal investigator who runs their laboratory in a criminally negligent manner as Patrick Harran has should be bestowed with any awards. We respectfully request that you refuse to honor the unsafe science conducted by an unethical scientist.”
Harran paid a $10,000 fine and served 800 hours ...
