‘I lost everything’: Ex-MIT scientist David Sabatini goes on camera for 1st time since $6M verdict

A former MIT professor, a jury has awarded the world-renowned scientist $6 million in a civil defamation and work interference case. The scientist gave his first on-camera interview since the verdict to Ted Daniels with 25 investigates. Dr. David Sabatini ran a leading biomedical research lab at MIT. His breakthroughs in understanding cancer and aging once made him a potential contender for the Nobel Prize. But in 2020, another scientist accused him of sexual misconduct. He lost his job, his lab, and his reputation. This man, this man right here can get away with all the sexual misconduct. On TikTok and across social media, Dr. David Sabatini was labeled a predator, abuser, a creepy dirtbag. What do we want? Thank you! When New York University considered hiring him in 2022, students and faculty protested he didn't get the job. I lost everything. There was nothing left of my normal life. And it was horrible. Rapists roaming the halls of MIT was basically what was said. My name is Kristen Knauss and I'm an assistant professor in the MIT Department of Biology. Sabatini's downfall began when an early career researcher at MIT's prestigious Whitehead Institute accused him of sexual misconduct and harassment. Dr. Kristen Knauss claims Sabatini coerced her into a sexual relationship that lasted more than a year. Here's Knauss' attorney arguing that. He continued having sex with her in a way that made her uncomfortable. As the inquiry widened, others raised concerns about boundaries in Sabatini's lab. Investigations conducted by the Whitehead and MIT concluded Sabatini broke policies and fostered a sexualized atmosphere in the workplace. And you responded, I know what I want and I go after it. Did I read that correctly? That is correct. The other side of the story didn't emerge publicly until Sabatini sued Knauss for defamation and his firing. That's her being questioned by Lisa Arrowood, Sabatini's attorney. Then you write, in hindsight, it was quite aggressive. Again, I think I was making a joke about the fact that I was more forward in that encounter, that I was stopping by his room. In a video deposition, Knauss admits she selected the text messages she provided investigators and coordinated with people who raised concerns about Sabatini and MIT. Well, she took what to me was very apparent from all our messages, a fully consensual relationship. she converted that into a coercive relationship which then you can also sort of see the escalation of that to claims you know as horrible as rape documents from the case reveal Knauss called her campaign against Sabatini "Covert Operation Dethroned" and in one message she jokes about buying a Lambo if she were to win a settlement the trial took three weeks faced with all the evidence, a Boston jury rejected Knauss' counterclaims and signed off on a verdict slip, awarding Sabatini $6 million. I had hoped, for example, that MIT would do the right things. I said, look, you need to get all the documents. You need to talk to all these people. They did none of that. It became clear that the only way to clear my name was to have a victory such as the one we've had. We requested an interview or a statement from Kristen Knauss, but her lawyer did not respond to our emails. In a statement, the Whitehead's board says it stands by its 2021 investigation and notes that claims Sabatini made against the Institute were dismissed in court. Sabatini now splits his time between Boston and Prague, where his labs are based. I'm investigative reporter Ted Daniel for Boston 25 News.