Former MIT Scientist David Sabatini Wins $6 Million Defamation Verdict Against Colleague Who Accused Him of Sexual Misconduct
A Massachusetts jury has awarded $6 million to David Sabatini, a former MIT biology professor and star cell biologist, after finding that a former colleague who accused him of sexual misconduct defamed him, according to The Boston Globe and Fox News Digital.
The Suffolk County jury of seven women and six men returned the verdict Friday in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston, The Boston Globe reported. The jurors directed Dr. Kristin Knouse, a fellow scientist who had brought her own claims against Sabatini, to pay the $6 million plus interest, finding she had defamed him and interfered with his ability to make a living, according to the Globe. The jury also rejected Knouse’s counterclaims, including her allegation that he coerced her into a sexual relationship, Fox News Digital reported.
Knouse’s attorney, Ellen Zucker, told the Globe her client intends to appeal. “So, we’re not going to stop,” Zucker said.
HOW THE CASE STARTED
Sabatini ran a research lab at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for about 24 years, according to Fox News Digital. The Globe noted his discovery of mTOR, a protein that regulates cell growth, which offered key insights into aging and cancer.
The two scientists met in 2012 and began a sexual relationship in 2018 that ended the following year, according to court documents cited by Fox News Digital. Sabatini has said the relationship was consensual. Knouse told investigators it was coercive and that Sabatini had fostered a toxic, sexually charged work environment, the Globe reported.
A 2021 internal investigation found the relationship violated a strict workplace relationship policy at Whitehead, according to the Globe, and Fox News Digital reported that investigation records also said Sabatini had fostered a sexualized atmosphere in his lab. He lost his lab and resigned from the institute, and he is no longer at MIT. Sabatini has denied creating an improper atmosphere in his lab.
Sabatini then sued Knouse for defamation and interference with his work. Knouse countersued, alleging sexual harassment. Whitehead was eventually dropped from the case, leaving the two scientists as the only remaining parties, the Globe reported. Fox News Digital reported that Sabatini’s legal team is preparing to challenge the dismissal of his claims against Whitehead.
WHAT EACH SIDE ARGUED AT TRIAL
At trial, Sabatini’s attorney, Lisa Arrowood, pointed to text messages she argued showed Knouse willingly took part in the relationship, Fox News Digital reported. In one 2020 message cited at trial, Knouse wrote that she was “pouring a lot of energy and emotion into a game I’m destined to lose.” Sabatini’s team also presented evidence it said showed Knouse had become jealous of another woman Sabatini was interested in and had sought to have him fired, according to Fox News Digital.
“We are so happy that we got David Sabatini’s good name back,” Arrowood told the Globe.
Knouse’s lawyer framed the case in broader terms. “The sad reality of our time is that society still has a difficult time believing women and appreciating the difficulty they encounter with men who too often control their fate,” Zucker said in a statement to The New York Times, as quoted by Fox News Digital.
A DEFAMATION VERDICT AFTER A CAREER COLLAPSE
Sabatini told Fox News Digital that hearing the verdict was “overwhelming.” “We had won everything, lost nothing,” he said.
After he left Whitehead, a possible faculty job at New York University fell through in 2022 following protests by students and faculty, Fox News Digital reported. In 2023 he joined the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry in Prague, and he now splits his time between Prague and the United States, according to the outlet.
“I think institutions don’t care about due process,” Sabatini told Fox News Digital. “They care about having a certain conclusion.”
The case is a reminder of how defamation law works: a public accusation can bring a court judgment if a jury finds it false and damaging. This defamation verdict is not the final word. Knouse’s lawyers have said they will appeal, and Fox News Digital said it had asked Whitehead and MIT for comment.
Sources: The Boston Globe (Oct. 16, 2026); Fox News Digital (Oct. 17, 2026); statement to The New York Times as quoted by Fox News Digital. Cover: Whitehead Institute, by Madcoverboy, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. In-post background: David Sabatini, National Institutes of Health video still, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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