BethAnn McLaughlin
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BethAnn McLaughlin is an American neuroscientist, activist, and
hoaxer A hoax (plural: hoaxes) is a widely publicised falsehood created to deceive its audience with false and often astonishing information, with the either malicious or humorous intent of causing shock and interest in as many people as possible. S ...
. She is a former assistant professor of neurology at
Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...
. Her research at Vanderbilt focused on neural stress responses and brain injury. After being denied tenure in 2017, she sought to have the decision overturned. The decision to deny tenure was upheld, and her employment at Vanderbilt ended in July 2019. McLaughlin worked at MeTooSTEM, the
non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...
she founded in order to advise scientists who are victims of sexual harassment. McLaughlin's management style has been questioned by several leaders of MeTooSTEM after several resignations, and allegations of bullying and mistreatment surfaced. McLaughlin was suspended from Twitter in August 2020 for running a "years-long Twitter identity scam, wherein she allegedly pretended to be a bisexual, Native American anthropology professor at
Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...
." McLaughlin soon after admitted responsibility for the hoax.


Early life and education

McLaughlin was born in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
and raised in
St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
and
New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
. She had an early interest in nature and science but was not as engaged in "formal science classes", in contrast to her brother who took to academic studies more readily. McLaughlin describes her brother as gifted, particularly in
math Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
, but the academic pressure "looked miserable" so she leaned more towards sports. During high school, McLaughlin was involved with the
school newspaper A student publication is a media outlet such as a newspaper, magazine, television show, or radio station Graduate student journal, produced by students at an educational institution. These publications typically cover local and school-related new ...
and worked as a waitress. McLaughlin obtained a
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
in
Biopsychology Behavioral neuroscience, also known as biological psychology, biopsychology, or psychobiology,Psychobi ...
from
Skidmore College Skidmore College is a Private school, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Saratoga Springs, New York. Approximately 2,700 students are enrolled at Skidmore pursuing a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Scien ...
in 1990. During this time she spent a year in
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
studying wildlife management which inspired her to advocate for nature through organising campus events for
Earth Day Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally through earthday.org (formerly Earth Day Network) includin ...
; she credits the success of this event as the point when she became "...hopelessly committed to causing good trouble." McLaughlin obtained her PhD in the Neurological Sciences from the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
in 1998. After graduation, she continued her postdoctoral training in the Department of Neurobiology at the
University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...
. As a postdoc, she received a
National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...
grant awarded through the
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) is a part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). It conducts and funds research on brain and nervous system disorders and has a budget of just over US$2.03 billion. The ...
's
National Research Service Award The Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards (usually referred to as NRSA) are a family of grants provided by the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) for training researchers in the behavioral sciences and health sciences. ...
Postdoctoral Training Fellowship in Neurodegeneration.


Career

In 2002, McLaughlin joined
Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...
as a research assistant professor at the
Vanderbilt University Medical Center The Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) is a medical provider with multiple hospitals in Nashville, Tennessee, as well as clinics and facilities throughout Middle Tennessee. VUMC is an independent non-profit organization, but maintains a ...
, a non
tenure track Tenure is a type of academic appointment that protects its holder from being fired or laid off except for cause, or under extraordinary circumstances such as financial exigency or program discontinuation. Academic tenure originated in the United ...
position. In 2005, McLaughlin received a new appointment at the same institution as an assistant professor, a tenure track position. Her research team studied how the brain responds to stress so that therapeutic solutions can be developed for acute and chronic injuries. The McLaughlin Lab also looked into identifying new genes that affect vulnerability to injury and the reasons behind cell death. Their research focused on stroke,
Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...
,
Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...
and
autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...
. Specifically, McLaughlin focused on understanding cell loss post
hypoxic Hypoxia means a lower than normal level of oxygen, and may refer to: Reduced or insufficient oxygen * Hypoxia (environmental), abnormally low oxygen content of a specific environment ** Hypoxia in fish, responses of fish to hypoxia * Hypoxia (medi ...
and
ischemic Ischemia or ischaemia is a restriction in blood supply to any tissue, muscle group, or organ of the body, causing a shortage of oxygen that is needed for cellular metabolism (to keep tissue alive). Ischemia is generally caused by problems ...
insults (often in cardiac arrest and stroke). McLaughlin has collaborated with researchers in physics and chemistry to study
organoid An organoid is a miniaturised and simplified version of an organ produced ''in vitro'' in three dimensions that mimics the key functional, structural, and biological complexity of that organ. It is derived from one or a few cells from a tissu ...
s for drug screening,
cholesterol Cholesterol is the principal sterol of all higher animals, distributed in body Tissue (biology), tissues, especially the brain and spinal cord, and in Animal fat, animal fats and oils. Cholesterol is biosynthesis, biosynthesized by all anima ...
in the brain, and sensitive sensors for metabolic signalling. McLaughlin applied for tenure in 2015, but Vanderbilt delayed a decision on her application for two years while a disciplinary investigation was conducted. The disciplinary investigation was based on accusations that McLaughlin was sending derogatory tweets to colleagues, from anonymous, multiuser Twitter accounts. She admitted to sending threats to colleagues, though does not recall if the specific threats of stabbing a colleague were specifically authored by her. She was denied tenure at Vanderbilt in 2017. She appealed the decision by filing a grievance with the university, and started a petition garnering social media support for her tenure. However, in 2019 the decision was upheld, and she left the university in July 2019.


Activism against sexual harassment in science

In June 2018, McLaughlin and
Julie Libarkin Julie Carol Libarkin is a professor of Earth Sciences and Director of the Geocognition Laboratory at Michigan State University. Her research considers how people understand and make decision about the planet. She is a Fellow of the Geological Soc ...
created the website MeTooSTEM.com to share stories about discrimination and sexual misconduct in
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an umbrella term used to group together the distinct but related technical disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The term is typically used in the context of ...
. This included her own experience as a witness for a
Title IX Title IX is a landmark federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other education program that receiv ...
case which she described as "arcane, unfair...vicious..and there is zero justice at the end and zero transparency." McLaughlin states that she believes listing abusers and speaking out will reduce the pressure on academics to self-investigate potential sexual harassers, such as "...vet
ing Ing, ING or ing may refer to: Art and media * '' ...ing'', a 2003 Korean film * i.n.g, a Taiwanese girl group * The Ing, a race of dark creatures in the 2004 video game '' Metroid Prime 2: Echoes'' * "Ing", the first song on The Roches' 199 ...
your new boss through the whisper net to see if they have sexually assaulted someone because there is no public record of most of these things." McLaughlin called on the
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...
(NAS) and the
American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...
to set consequences for members participating in sexual assault or misconduct through
petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to an officia ...
s. In June 2018, McLaughlin launched a campaign on social media to stop the red chili pepper "hotness" rating for professors at
RateMyProfessors.com Rate My Professors (RMP) is a review site founded in May 1999 by John Swapceinski, a software engineer from Menlo Park, California, which allows anyone to assign ratings to professors and campuses of American, Canadian, and United Kingdom instit ...
. The campaign received nearly 4,000 signatures and RateMyProfessors dropped this rating within 72 hours. In an August 2018 interview with ''The Scientist'' magazine, she claimed credit for causing the Herpetologists' League to revoke their Distinguished
Herpetologist Herpetology (from Ancient Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is a branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, salamanders, and caecilians (Gymnophiona)) and reptiles (in ...
award to Richard Vogt, saying attendees who had "a lack of confidence" complained to her about material in Vogt's acceptance presentation showing students in
bikini A bikini is a two-piece swimsuit primarily worn by women that features one piece on top that covers the breasts, and a second piece on the bottom: the front covering the pelvis but usually exposing the navel, and the back generally covering ...
s. However, McLaughlin was not present at the meeting, and herpetologists who were at the meeting immediately expressed their concern about sexual harassment issues. In November 2018 McLaughlin used
social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...
to highlight efforts from university professors to bar a computer scientist from speaking at a conference because of known sexual harassment allegations. In an interview with the ''
Journal of Cell Biology The ''Journal of Cell Biology'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Rockefeller University Press. History In the early 1950s, a small group of biologists began to explore intracellular anatomy using the emerging technology of e ...
'', McLaughlin asserted her belief that her involvement in
advocacy Advocacy is an Action (philosophy), activity by an individual or advocacy group, group that aims to influence decision making, decisions within political, economic, and social institutions. Advocacy includes activities and publications to infl ...
has had negative impacts on her research, citing time spent away from the lab due to the long process that harassment cases undergo where safety is also of concern. She also stated that she has "demonstrably lost promotions, funding, and students because I've pulled awards out of the hands of harassers." As of 2019, McLaughlin works at MeTooSTEM, the
non-profit organisation A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...
that she founded in order to advise scientists who are victims of sexual harassment. On August 4, 2020, following a scandal on Twitter, McLaughlin wrote that she is "stepping away from all activities with MeTooSTEM to ensure that it isn't unfairly criticized for my actions."


Bullying allegations under MeTooSTEM

From the founding of MeTooSTEM in 2018, through 2020, several leadership members of MeTooSTEM had resigned and raised concerns about McLaughlin's leadership. These included accusations of "bullying" people within and outside the organization, hostility, harassment, and marginalization of
people of color The term "person of color" (: people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is associated with, the United States. From th ...
. This included Sherry Marts, who shared the 2018 MIT Disobedience Award with McLaughlin, writing that she experienced "bullying and intimidation". Other concerns involved a lack of transparency over the direction, structure, and finances of MeTooSTEM. Some board members defended McLaughlin, with
Carol Greider Carolyn Widney Greider (born April 15, 1961) is an American molecular biologist and Nobel laureate. She is a Distinguished Professor of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Greider discovered ...
stating in 2019, "Much of her effectiveness has been in bringing truth to power and being in your face." As of 2019, the organization had a small board and group of regular volunteers. After McLaughlin's suspension from Twitter, she wrote in a statement that she is "stepping away from all activities" with the organization. In August 2020, the @MeTooSTEM Twitter account was also restricted by the platform.


Twitter hoax

On July 31, 2020, McLaughlin posted on
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
that her colleague, "@Sciencing_bi", supposedly a female
Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...
anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...
professor at
Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...
(ASU), had died of
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
. She claimed the woman contracted COVID-19 after " e was forced by her university to continue teaching in person until April", though ASU had suspended classes in March 2020. The anonymous account was created in 2016 and had been heavily involved with MeTooSTEM. After McLaughlin held a
Zoom Zoom may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''Zoom'' (2006 film), starring Tim Allen * ''Zoom'' (2015 film), a Canada-Brazil film by Pedro Morelli * ''Zoom'' (2016 Kannada film), a Kannada film * ''Zoom'' (2016 Sinhala film), a Sr ...
memorial service, attendees noticed that no one knew the account's true identity. A spokesperson for ASU later said the university had no evidence that any professors had died, or that the professor in question existed. An instance resurfaced wherein @Sciencing_bi had solicited donations over
Venmo Venmo is an American mobile payment service founded in 2009 and owned by PayPal since 2013. Venmo is aimed at users who wish to split their bills. Account holders can transfer funds to others via a mobile phone app; both the sender and receiver ...
, and the Venmo account belonged to McLaughlin. On August 3, 2020, McLaughlin's Twitter account was suspended for violation of its "spam and platform manipulation policies" which prohibit maintaining fraudulent personas on the platform. Shortly afterwards, the @Sciencing_bi account was suspended under the same policy. On August 4, 2020, the ''New York Times'' published a statement from McLaughlin provided by her lawyer in which she admitted responsibility for the hoax, and would be "stepping away" from MeTooSTEM. She was subsequently removed from the editorial board of the ''
Journal of Neuroscience ''The Journal of Neuroscience'' is a weekly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Society for Neuroscience. It covers empirical research on all aspects of neuroscience. Its editor-in-chief is Sabine Kastner (Princeton University), who su ...
''. McLaughin was also subsequently removed from the
MIT Media Lab The MIT Media Lab is a research laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, growing out of MIT's Architecture Machine Group in the MIT School of Architecture and Planning, School of Architecture. Its research does not restrict to fi ...
2018 MIT Disobedience Award, which she had originally shared with biologist Sherry Marts and founder of the #MeToo movement
Tarana Burke Tarana Burke (born September 12, 1973) is an American activist from New York City, who started the MeToo movement. In 2006, Burke began Me Too as a youth program for junior and high school students with the goal of addressing the rampant sexual ...
.


Recognition

In 2018 she received the Society for Neuroscience Louise Hanson Marshall Special Recognition Award for her work on the advancement of women in neuroscience.


References


External links

*
MeTooStem
{{DEFAULTSORT:McLaughlin, BethAnn Living people Vanderbilt University faculty American neurologists American women neuroscientists American neuroscientists Skidmore College alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni Women neurologists Scientists from Boston Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American scientists 21st-century American women scientists American women academics Hoaxers American women founders American founders People stripped of awards LGBTQ-related controversies in the United States American people who self-identify as being of Native American descent Racial impostors