Neuroscience Hiring Controversy at MIT

The interactions between Prof. Susumu Tonegawa and Dr. Alla Karpova, at the time a postdoctoral fellow at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, have been the subject of scrutiny within MIT, and through the broader scientific community (“Professor Allegedly Bullied MIT Prospect,” The Boston Globe, July 28, 2006) . Dr. Karpova, recruited as an assistant professor in the Department of Biology, originally planned to come to MIT, but declined the offer after e-mail exchanges with Prof. Tonegawa.

The Faculty Newsletter, with permission of the authors, is publishing the letter from our colleagues to President Hockfield which initiated expressions of concern, as well as President Hockfield's reply and the related e-mail sent to the MIT faculty by Provost Reif.

An offer was also made to print the letter to President Hockfield from six members of the Picower Institute. Two signers declined that offer, stating: "We feel that enough has been said on this topic and until the report by the special committee is made to the president and provost, it's not clear what will be gained by reiterating and printing the same three letters that have already been discussed endlessly in the media." The committee referred to is composed of Dr. Torsten Wiesel and Professors Jacqueline N. Hewitt (chair), Marc A. Kastner,  Michael F. Rubner, and Sheila E. Widnall, and is expected to report later in the fall.

Click on the appropriate link to view the material:

Letter to President Hockfield

President Hockfield's Response

E-mail to faculty from Provost Reif

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