Prominent Australian cancer researcher Professor Mark Smyth was “a bully who used his reputation, status and power to intimidate”, avoiding proper scrutiny of his scientific methods and investigation of his behaviour, according to an external review.
But the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute missed several opportunities to rein him in, the review found, with whistleblowers having to leave and complain elsewhere before action was taken in 2020.The Brisbane-based institute yesterday released edited excerpts of the review by former Federal Court judge Bruce Lander KC, which followed an independent investigation into Smyth’s numerous code of conduct breaches.
According to the review, whistleblowers and witnesses suspected Smyth had fabricated data - in part, because he did not spend enough time in the animal research facility to generate the amount of data he claimed.However, he continued to enjoy the support of his bosses. One regarded him as “a star”, and he was “the most highly cited immunologist in Australia” at a time when QIMR Berghofer was promoting its dedicated cancer research centre.
Several raised issues directly with Smyth, only to be ignored or bullied. He threatened one with dismissal, with unfounded claims of a forged job application and CV, before Smyth himself was ultimately stood down in September 2020. Queensland’s Crime and Corruption Commission has been investigating whether the misconduct might amount to fraud but has yet to reveal the outcome.
Mackay said the National Health and Medical Research Council had been briefed and supported the institute’s efforts to resolve the issue and prevent a repeat. She emphasised it was a different organisation to the one that hired Smyth. The institute attributed the decision to release extracts of the Lander review to journalists on an embargoed basis, on federal budget day, to the need to first inform stakeholders and comply with legal obligations.
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