MIT Scientist's $6M Defamation Victory Sparks Heated Reactions

A former Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) scientist won a legal victory this week after losing his position following sexual misconduct allegations made by a female colleague.

Dr. David Sabatini, a former MIT biology professor and prominent biomedical researcher, was awarded $6 million in damages Friday after a jury found that his former colleague, Dr. Kristin Knouse, had defamed him.

At the time of the allegations, Sabatini had led a research lab at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for approximately 24 years.