Was world-renowned molecular biologist David Sabatini a manipulative mentor who coerced a younger colleague into sex and cultivated a hostile work culture at his research lab in Cambridge? Or was he the victim of a spurned former lover and a #MeToo movement gone too far?
A dozen jurors in Boston are weighing these starkly opposing interpretations following a bruising, three-week civil trial that exposed the intense power dynamics and permissive sexual norms inside the world-famous Whitehead Institute, where Sabatini ran his own laboratory. Standing between the jury and a verdict are scores of hours of conflicting testimony, bitter recriminations, and a vast trove of unfiltered texts exchanged by two brilliant scientists.
The yearslong feud offers a rare window into the insular world of top-tier science labs, where directors wield outsized authority. It also highlights a broader challenge confronting modern workplaces: How to maintain professional boundaries within close-knit, diverse teams as behavioral standards evolve.