Nov. 14, 2022: Every non Knouse-Sabatini correspondence from the WIBR and Sabatini/Knouse legal filings.
https://twitter.com/mTOR_Leaks/status/1592234960286814208
May 20, 2016: Text exchange between Knouse and an MIT graduate student friend of hers (MGS13). According to Sabatini, after a whiskey tasting that day Knouse walked to his car with him, and he encouraged her to apply to the WIBR Fellows program, but conveyed to her that her adviser Angelika Amon (MF1) had expressed concern that Knouse may be too stressed out for the role of WIBR Fellow: “Apparently Angelika’s only worry is that I’ll have a mental breakdown” and alleges that Sabatini asked her “so you fuck around and get laid?” to which Knouse says “Me…trying to tell him naw I will be a great scientist but yea I get laid.”
In the WIBR report, Sabatini claims that his wording amounted to “you have fun and fuck around, right?” where “fuck around” was not meant to equate to “sleep around.”
This interaction thus comes down to he-said/she-said with both parties having drank a decent amount of whisky beforehand…
Feb. 24, 2019: An email from Knouse to a potential therapist. Knouse had contemporaneously expressed to Sabatini that she was undergoing “existential crises” driven by her mentor Angelika Amon’s battle with ovarian cancer. Sabatini apparently suggested that she try therapy. In this email she tells the therapist that she has recurrent feelings of purposelessness and entrapment from the student/trainee-professional transition and the isolating nature of being a PI. In the WIBR report, she claims that this email does not mention Sabatini because he somehow forbade her from discussing their relationship with a therapist?
Early 2019: A text exchange between Non-MIT Undergraduate Student 1 (NMUS1, right) and MIT Graduate Student 16 (MGS16, left) from when NMUS1 first joined the Sabatini lab working under Postdoc 6 (PD6). MGS16 recounts a suggestion of a male lab member who apparently suggested to MGS16 that she “entertain (Sabatini) a little then push him away.”
Summer 2019: A Slack exchange between Sabatini and NMUS1. NMUS1 was apparently in Cambridge, UK at the same time Sabatini would be in town to give a talk. Having expressed an interest in seeing Sabatini’s general mTOR talk, she laments not being able to make the talk. Sabatini conveys that if she changes her ticket to make the talk that he could help cover any extra cost. In Knouse’s counterclaim, she misrepresents this exchange: "Sabatini then took a disturbing step towards a very inappropriate relationship with this undergraduate: he offered to pay for a change in her flight--and her hotel room--so that she could greet him when he arrived, attend his talk and spend time with him afterwards. She declined."
Sept. 10 2019: Text exchange between Knouse and MGS20. A rumor that Sabatini and NMUS1 had an inappropriate relationship apparently began after a neighbor of the lab saw Sabatini and NMUS1 have a meeting in the form of a walk outdoors. Sabatini was apparently upset about the rumor and expressed this to Knouse, who says that she “reiterate(d)…that this isn’t a specific act of malice from on perpetrator, this is a culture gone a step too far and perhaps not even from within (the lab).” MGS20 expresses concern that “someone’s head is on the block.” MGS20’s last statement is an expression of frustration that MANY of us have encountered in academic science.
November 2019: This text between Angelika Amon and Knouse from late 2019 is curious. She portrays her relationship with Sabatini as “when it all began I tried to stop it and he said to relax”…but less than two months later in January 2020 she would tell Sabatini that Amon said Sabatini is “intimidated” by Knouse like “other men that she has dated” in a text exchange where she attempts to convince Sabatini to continue their relationship.
February 9, 2020: This text between Knouse and a Whitehead Faculty 3 (WF3) is the first instance since Sabatini turned her entreaties for a relationship down in January 2020 where she writes in great detail to a third party about the “harassment” from Sabatini. In this missive she characterizes Sabatini’s desire to be just friends as her trying to cut off the relationship and it being “poorly received.”
March 18, 2020: Text exchange between MGS20 and Knouse. MGS20 suggests that bimonthly whiskey tastings were “an excuse to pseudo-justify drooling on you.”
September 3, 2020: MIT Graduate Student 14 (MGS14) Slack exchange with RS3 regarding Visiting Postdoc 1’s inappropriate behavior.
September 20, 2020: Sabatini’s administrative staff RS3 forwards an email from MIT Graduate Student 9 (MGS9) about clashes with VP1.
Shortly thereafter, VP1 emails to Sabatini:
September 26, 2020: Slack exchange between VP1 and Sabatini.
November 20, 2020: An email exchange between Knouse and WIBR Director Ruth Lehmann from one of Sabatini’s legal filings. Here they discuss swapping Knouse out from Sabatini’s formal mentorship…but Knouse states that her hesitation “would be that if it rocks the boat or sends any advance alarm.”
November 21, 2020: A Slack exchange between Sabatini and Postdoc 6 (PD6) regarding the shenanigans of Visiting Postdoc 1. Research Staff 3 (RS3) apparently relayed the matter of PD6’s reagents being moved by VP1 to Sabatini. Sabatini agrees with her and assures her that she will face no retaliation for bringing these concerns to him or RS3, and states his belief that VP1’s social skills are questionable at best.
November 21, 2020: An email exchange between Knouse and Lehmann discussing de-listing Sabatini has her formal WIBR Fellow Mentor from a Sabatini legal filing. Knouse states that she wouldn’t want Sabatini being someone else’s mentor to hurt the other fellow “in light of what will come to light in the coming months/year.”
It’s almost like they already know that a not-yet-planned investigation into Sabatini will lead to his termination?
November 21, 2020: A text exchange between Knouse (right) and Incoming WIBR Fellow (left). These are from Sabatini legal filings and a Knouse legal team affidavit (Christopher Wurster). Knouse appears to know well in advance that Sabatini will be terminated when she says “next year when shit hits the fan.”
February 14, 2021: Another text exchange with WF3. She goes on to refer to Sabatini—who a year prior had declined her request to continue their relationship—as “such a fucking abuser.” She neglects to tell WF3 about her >1y long sexual relationship with Sabatini and characterizes it as “physical advances” that she “tried to resist.” The top is from the WIBR report, the second from the Christopher Wurster affidavit. In the second exchange Knouse reveals that she somehow knows about two alumni “complaints” about Sabatini to WIBR HR that are “totally independent of my situation,” then cryptically refers to “many irons in the fire.”
Date TBD: A text exchange between Postdoc 11 and a postdoc candidate who applied to the lab. The candidate points out that Sabatini “LOVES the dudes.” Postdoc 11 says that there are two ways to get Sabatini to like you: “Act in a way that suggests to him you find him in some way attractive or whatever” OR “If you are extremely smart and impress him with that.”
Date TBD: An exchange between Postdoc 6 with an unknown person about how some men in the lab or in science “can’t see girls as scientists or friends.”
