The Full WIBR Sabatini Investigative Report (links to individual sections)

This will be updated as we release more sections

COVER PAGE

Oct. 6, 2022: Introducing the HAS WIBR Sabatini report

TABLE OF CONTENTS (Pages i-ii)

Dec. 6, 2022: The HAS Report Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION | INVESTIGATIVE MANDATE (Pages 1-2)

Dec. 6, 2022: Introduction and Mandate

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (Pages 2-10)

Dec. 20, 2022: Executive Summary. Or, We Hope the Board of Directors Reads This Instead of the Muddled and Contradictory Full Report? Who Needs Details or Nuance, Anyways?

INVESTIGATIVE PROCESS (Pages 10-18)

I. General Overview (Pages 10-12)

Dec. 7, 2022: The "investigative process" didn't even include transcripts of interviews and investigators did not receive the majority of texts from Knouse until the end of the investigation...

II. A-C. Complaints Made to Whitehead’s Human Resources Office (Pages 12-15)

Dec. 11, 2022: Complaints Made to Whitehead's Human Resource Office. Or, Two Friends of Knouse Mysteriously Yet Simultaneously Approach WIBR HR With Complaints About Sabatini Lab Culture.

II. D. The DEI Survey (Pages 15-18)

Dec. 7, 2022: The DEI Survey, or, how the inflammatory mistruths of Multiracial Female Graduate Student helped to fuel the WIBR investigation.

RECORDS AND EVIDENCE REVIEWED (Pages 18-23)

I-VI. Witness Interviews | Email Communications | Slack, Social Media and Personal Communications | Records Produced by Sabatini | Records Produced by Whitehead Fellow 1 | Records Produced by Postdoc 6 (Pages 18-23)

Dec. 10, 2022: Records and Evidence Reviewed. Or, a Timeline of How Knouse Delayed Interviews and Disclosures Throughout the Investigation...

RELEVANT BACKGROUND FOR FINDINGS (Pages 23-30)

I-III. Sabatini’s Lab at Whitehead | Culture of the Sabatini Lab | Whitehead Fellows Program

IV-V. Investigator’s Observations Regarding Sabatini’s Persona at the Whitehead | Sabatini Lab Members’ Candor and Cooperation in the Investigation

VI. Credibility of Sabatini (Pages 27-30)

Dec. 16, 2022: Relevant Background for Findings. Or, If We Put Misleading Stuff Up Front in the Report Maybe the WIBR Board of Directors Won't Bother to Read the Rest and Drill Down on Inconsistencies

STATEMENT OF CONCERNS AND FINDINGS

I. Interference by Sabatini in the Investigation (Pages 30-43)

I. 1-3. Sabatini’s Interference Affected the Investigation | Discussions with Lab Members Influenced the Investigation | Sabatini Directly or Indirectly Threatened Lab Members and Others (Pages 31-33)

I. 4. Background – Whitehead Director’s Directive Not to Interfere with the Investigation (Pages 33-35)

I. 5. Sabatini’s Discussions with Lab Members and Personnel (Pages 35-43)

I. 5. (a-b). Discussions Involving and/or Regarding Visiting Postdoc 2 | Ad Hoc Outreach to Lab Members (Pages 35-37)

Dec. 19, 2022: Statement of Concerns and Findings. Interference Part 1. Or, Front-Loading the WIBR Report With Claims that Speaking to Lab Members During the Investigation is Interference

I. 5. (c). Scheduled Individual Meetings with Lab Members (Pages 37-39)

I. 5. (d-e). Sabatini’s Threats to Lab Members Concerning Participation in the Investigation | Other Attempts to Shape Testimony or Influence Participation in the Investigation (Pages 39-42)

I. 5. (f). Other Acts of Interference by Sabatini (Pages 42-43)

Dec. 19, 2022: Statement of Concerns and Findings. Part 2. Or, Let's Portray Scheduling a Lab Hike as Interference Because, Why Not It's Not Like Anyone Will Read This Awful Report Closely At All!

II. Threats of Retaliation by Sabatini (Pages 43-45)

Dec. 9, 2022: Threats of retaliation by Sabatini. Or, did you know that being irritated with a trainee constitutes a threat?

II. A. 2. Actions by Sabatini to Undermine Whitehead Administration (Pages 45-47)

Dec. 2, 2022: Sabatini "undermined" the WIBR administration by...saying opinions.

II. A. 3. “Cake-Gate” (Pages 47-50)

Dec. 2, 2022: Cake-Gate, or, the story of how a surprise BDay party was reported for COVID violations and became A Whole Thing.

II. A. 4. Sabatini's Exertion of Influence over Whitehead Faculty (Pages 50-52)

Dec. 3, 2022: Investigators also accused Sabatini of "coercing" another WIBR faculty...despite the fact that all he did was ask the faculty (WF3) if WF3 was willing to host a visiting scientist...

II. B. Sabatini’s Conduct Chilled Good Faith Concerns of Potential Research Misconduct or Data Invalidity (Pages 52-53)

Dec. 9, 2022: Sabatini's Conduct Chilled Good Faith Concerns of Potential Research Misconduct or Data Invalidity. Or, ONE student texting with Knouse is equated to "chilling?"

II. C. Sabatini Threatened Trainees in Response to Rumors Regarding Non-MIT Undergraduate Student 1 (Pages 53-56)

Dec. 5, 2022: Sabatini's response to rumors surrounding Non-MIT Undergraduate Student 1. Or, The Retaliation That Wasn't Retaliation (p53-56).

II. D. Sabatini Carried on an Improper Relationship with Non-MIT Undergraduate Student 1 (Pages 57-59)

Dec. 6, 2022: "Carried on an improper relationship" with an undergraduate means having a handful of meetings and a slack exchange with a female student (p57-59).

III. Sexual Harassment in the Lab and/or Sexually Inappropriate Environment Created by Sabatini in His Lab (Pages 59-62)

Dec. 15, 2022: Sexually Inappropriate Environment Created by Sabatini in His Lab. Or, Why Address Minor Incidents with HR/Sensitivity Training When We Can Portray Them as Systemic and Destroy a Lab?

IV. Sexual Harassment and/or Inappropriate Relationship with Whitehead Fellow 1 (Pages 63-106)

IV. A-B. Background and Sabatini’s Status as Whitehead Fellow 1’s Fellow Mentor (Pages 63-68)

Dec. 12, 2022: Sexual Harassment and/or Inappropriate Relationship with Whitehead Fellow 1 PART 1. Or, Let's Try to Portray Unstructured Mentorship As Real Authority Over Knouse by Sabatini

IV. C. 1-3. Sabatini’s and Whitehead Fellow 1’s Conflicting Accounts of the Origins and Nature of their Sexual Relationship | Sabatini's Involvement in Whitehead Fellow 1's Application to the Whitehead Fellows Program (Pages 68-75)

Dec. 12, 2022: Sexual Harassment and/or Inappropriate Relationship with Whitehead Fellow 1 PART 2: Or, Conflicting views of a by-all-accounts consensual relationship.

IV. C. 4-5. Events Leading Up to First Sexual Encounter and April 18, 2018 Encounter (Pages 75-79)

Dec. 13, 2022: Sexual Harassment and/or Inappropriate Relationship with Whitehead Fellow 1 PART 3. Or, lead-in to and the first sexual encounter.

IV. C. 6. Sexual Encounters May 2018-January 2019 (Pages 80-87)

Dec. , 2022: Sexual Harassment and/or Inappropriate Relationship with Whitehead Fellow 1 PART 4: The Consensual Sex that Became Coercive After They Broke Up?

IV. C. 6. (b). Sexual Encounters Between Sabatini and Knouse at the Whitehead (Page 80)

Nov. 18, 2022: A nice example of the misleading structure and writing of the WIBR report

IV. C. 7. Sexual Encounters at Whitehead Retreat (Pages 87-88)

Dec. 14, 2022: Sexual Harassment and/or Inappropriate Relationship with Whitehead Fellow 1 PART 5: Sexual Encounters at Whitehead Retreat.

IV. C. 8. Disclosure of Whitehead Fellow 1-Sabatini Relationship (Pages 88-93)

Dec. 14, 2022: Sexual Harassment and/or Inappropriate Relationship with Whitehead Fellow 1 PART 6: Disclosure of the Relationship. Or, Rewriting the Past to Torpedo Sabatini

Pages 93:

Nov. 25, 2022: Yet another friend of Knouse's recruited to tell WIBR HR that she "felt unsafe" knowing that complaints had been lodged about Sabatini (yet was somehow not informed of their affair)...

IV. C. 9. Knouse and Sabatini's Text Messages/Communications in 2020 (Pages 93-94)

IV. C. 9. (a). Text Messages Relating to Potential Relationship (Pages 94-96)

Nov. 29, 2022: It appears that Knouse provided investigators with text messages up to but NOT including her back-and-forth with Sabatini about staying together...

IV. C. 9. (b). Text Message Reference to Der Fuhrer (Pages 96-97)

Nov. 30, 2022: Apparently the accuser was often not in control of her own actions and words as she "perceived a need to replicate Sabatini's behavior and language."

IV. C. 9. ©. Text Messages/Statements Relating to Knouse's Use of Sexualized Language (Pages 97-98)

Nov. 30, 2022: Knouse's own sexualized language was actually somehow all Sabatini's fault?

IV. C. 10. Inappropriate Ogling of MIT Athlete (Pages 98-99)

Dec. 1, 2022: Sabatini and Knouse went to the MIT gym as friends in 2019...and joked about an attractive male gym-rat (Yes. Investigators spent time and money on this idiocy)!

IV. D. Sabatini's Relationship with Knouse Violated Whitehead's Policies (Pages 99-102)

Dec. 10, 2022: Sabatini's Relationship with Whitehead Fellow 1 Violated Whitehead's Policies. Or, They Both Violated Whitehead Policy, But, Whatever...

IV. D. 1(b)-2(a). Sabatini Violated Whitehead's Anti-Harassment Policy | Compliance with Whitehead Policies as of August 30, 2018 | Sabatini Improperly Exerted Influence over Whitehead Fellow 1 (Pages 104-106)

Dec. 20, 2022: Sabatini's Influence over Whitehead Fellow 1. Or, Knouse "Repeated Sabatini's Own Terminology Back to Him" and Clearly Had No Agency (According to Investigators)?

V. Issues Affecting Gender Inequality (Pages 106-109)

V. A. The Personality Barrier (Pages 106-109)

Dec. 8, 2022: Issues affecting gender inequality. Or, confident colleagues and teaching your trainees to communicate effectively creates an environment hostile to women???

V. B. The Pregnancy Barrier (Page 109)

Dec. , 2022: The Pregnancy Barrier. Or, Sabatini *once* said people are less productive while pregnant and *once* said he returned to work soon after having a son.

CONCLUSION (Page 128)

Dec. 21, 2022: Conclusion of the WIBR Sabatini Report. Or, "Whitehead...is free to accept or reject findings based upon the factual bases...OR...the readers' life experiences and perspectives?"

APPENDIX A (Pages 129-153)

Dec. 9, 2022: Appendix A

APPENDIX B (Pages 154-156)

Dec. 7, 2022: Appendix B

APPENDIX C (Pages 157-163)

Dec. 6, 2022: Appendix C (pages 157-163), an index of documents collected for the WIBR investigation.

APPENDIX D (Pages 164-251)

Dec. 9, 2022: Appendix D (pages 164-248)