FLICKR, ALFRED ESSAInder Verma, a cancer and gene therapy scientist at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, CA, has been placed on administrative leave, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Saturday (April 21). The institute has hired The Rose Group, a San Diego–based international employment law and consulting firm, to investigate allegations, not yet made public, that were reported to the institute in February.
Dan Lewis, chairman of Salk’s board of trustees, emailed the institute’s staff members late last week to inform them that a formal investigation is underway and that “effective immediately, Dr. Verma has been placed on administrative leave, pending the outcome of the investigation. He will not be performing scientific or administrative roles on behalf of the Institute during this period.”
Complaints against Verma led to his suspension as editor-in-chief of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in December.
In response to questions from Science about sexual harassment allegations, Verma responded through his lawyer in a statement: “I have never used my position at the Salk Institute to take advantage of others. I have also never engaged in any sort of intimate relationship with ...
