MIT Scientist Kristin Knouse Claims She's Target of 'Massive Smear Campaign' After $6M Defamation Verdict

MIT scientist Kristin Knouse has accused David Sabatini and the press of fuelling a 'massive smear campaign' against her. In a recent interview, she said she has received death threats after a jury found her liable for defamation.

Knouse made the remarks outside the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research in Cambridge on Monday. She said she had been targeted after losing the defamation case filed against her by Sabatini.

Kristin Knouse Accuses Sabatini of Sending a 'Mob'

'I am the target of a massive smear campaign and getting death threats,' Knouse said when approached by the outlet. She added that she did not want to talk to anyone.

Asked who she believed was behind the alleged campaign, Knouse replied: 'He sent a mob after me, and a lot of your publications are too.'

She said she was uncomfortable speaking because of the media coverage. Her allegations about Sabatini and the press have not been independently established.

Sabatini denied the accusation in a conversation with the Daily Mail on Tuesday. He said he had not sent any mob against Knouse and was 'sad to hear' that she was receiving death threats.

Sabatini also said he had previously offered to settle the dispute. Knouse's lawyer, Ellen Zucker, has indicated that her client intends to challenge the verdict.

The remarks followed a Suffolk County jury's decision to find Knouse liable for defaming Sabatini and interfering with his professional relationships.

On October 16, jurors awarded him $6 million in damages. The Tech reported approximately $3.6 million in prejudgment interest bringing the total to around $9.6 million.

How the Kristin Knouse Defamation Case Reached a Verdict

The lawsuit stemmed from a relationship between the scientists that began in 2018 and ended in January 2020. Sabatini maintained that the relationship was consensual, while Knouse alleged that he had coerced her and created a sexually hostile working environment.

The jury rejected Knouse's counterclaims that Sabatini had committed quid pro quo sexual harassment, created a sexually hostile work environment or retaliated against her.

It found that Knouse had interfered with his contractual and prospective professional relationships. However, the verdict did not determine the nature of their relationship.

The jury's decision also did not overturn separate institutional findings concerning Sabatini's conduct.

MIT previously said that reviewers found Sabatini had engaged in a relationship with someone over whom he held career-influencing authority, failed to disclose it to his supervisors and did not relinquish his mentoring responsibilities.

The institute said this breached its workplace relationship policy.

How the Kristin Knouse Case Affected David Sabatini

Sabatini resigned from the Whitehead Institute in 2021 and left MIT in 2022 after a separate review recommended that his tenure be revoked.

A potential appointment at New York University was subsequently abandoned following protests by students and faculty.

He has since established a research position at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry in Prague, which also has a Boston laboratory.

Sabatini previously told the Daily Mail that the ordeal had left him in deep despair and that he had attempted to take his own life by hanging himself.

'This has completely destroyed me and completely changed my life,' he said last week. 'Nothing that remained from before is still operating. Everything is gone.'

Knouse's lawyer has indicated that the defence intends to challenge the verdict through post-trial proceedings.

Meanwhile, Sabatini's legal team is challenging earlier rulings in favour of the Whitehead Institute and its director, Ruth Lehmann, including the dismissal of claims against them and the denial of requests for additional investigation materials.