Renowned scientist wins multimillion-dollar settlement following court ruling that his colleague lied about sexual harassment allegations

Molecular biologist David Sabatini, 58, will receive $6 million in damages, plus interest, after a Massachusetts jury ruled in his favor in a defamation lawsuit against his former colleague Kristin Knouse, 38.

According to the The Daily Mail, the verdict came after a three-week civil trial in a Boston court.

Sabatini, internationally recognized for his research, was once considered a potential future Nobel Prize winner. However, his career suffered a major setback in 2021, when he was removed from his positions at the Whitehead Institute and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) following allegations of workplace misconduct.

The legal dispute began after Sabatini filed a lawsuit in which he claimed he had been the victim of a smear campaign. Knouse filed a counterclaim alleging that the scientist had abused his position of power to subject her to a non-consensual relationship and an abusive work environment.

The jury, composed of seven women and six men, concluded that Knouse was liable for defamation and for interfering with Sabatini's ability to earn a living. The decision also rejected in their entirety the claims filed by the researcher against the scientist, according to information published by The Daily Mail.

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A relationship that ended in a professional and legal dispute

The two scientists began their relationship in 2018, during a conference held in Washington, D.C., as Knouse was preparing to join the Whitehead Institute as a researcher. Sabatini had begun advising her on setting up her own laboratory.

Both acknowledged that they had sexual relations during that encounter, but offered different accounts of the circumstances. Sabatini maintained that it was a consensual relationship, while Knouse claimed she felt coerced despite having tried to resist.

Following that incident, they maintained relations for approximately a year and a half. According to the report published by The Daily Mail, both told investigators that they had sex about 15 times and remained friends during that period.

The relationship ended in January 2020, when Sabatini told her he wanted to date another female scientist. After the breakup, Knouse filed a complaint against him with the Whitehead Institute alleging misconduct.

The institution launched an independent investigation that concluded Sabatini had fostered "sexist and sexualized" workplace conversations. In August 2021, the scientist resigned from his position at the Whitehead Institute, and the following year, he stepped down from his tenured position at MIT.