Jolted Principle Investigator

I genuinely enjoy being a scientist. Apart from the thrill of finding things out, witnessing people enter the lab as novices and leave with experience and growth is a massive perk of running a scientific team. Not everything is rosy. I've overseen 17 master's theses, i.e. I've seen my share of talent and the void. What I'm about to share is new and unpleasant. This is about a project assistant, who I will call Raju here. He spent a year going through the motions, not contributing to the lab's progress. Three months ago, I asked him to leave the lab, leaving enough time for him to find his next step. We had committed for a year, which ended last week. And this is what happened yesterday:

Raju first sent an email with only one Word file attached to it and no subject. I looked at the contents. I took it to the lab to show them how not to write a statement of purpose. The contents of the doc suggested he has extensive experience addressing stemness in C2C12 cells. That is not true.

Further, it suggested that he is actively performing experiments on haematopoetic stem cells. That, too, is not true. I said that he would have to add qualifiers to clarify his limited tissue culture experience. He asked me for a letter of recommendation. I asked him what he wanted me to write in it. He said I should talk about his potential. I made it clear that I would state that he is well-read, analytical and has good communication skills. He left to make changes to his write-up. Soon after, he sent me a photo of a computer screen with some modifications. He said then that he needs the letter of recommendation in print and with my signature and that he is required to personally upload it. I clarified that this was not done and that I will send the letter by email. He insisted that this letter and the letter of experience must be submitted through him. When I asked him what institution this was, he said it was  IMPRS Tubingen.

At that instant, it became clear that what he had said about the requirements so far were lies. Over the past two days, I wrote letters for KMP and M, and no such requirement was mentioned. Raju's intention apparently is to take my letter to further applications, possibly modified without my knowledge.

I made it clear that his attempt at deception was obvious and added to the lies in his essay, his integrity is questionable. If he sticks around in research, none of his work would be trustworthy, likely tainting this new lab's reputation. Recommending him for anything is no longer an option for me. I communicated this in those words. I added that any further communications I make about his time in the lab will be via email. I will state no more than the words ‘Shashank was present in my lab' between dates x and y. He left.

Feeling drained and disappointed, I spoke to Jyotsna and Swasti about this. They commiserated with their own stories and said that this would be part of the job and that I should get used to it, hard though it is.

When I returned to my office, there was Raju waiting for me. He tried to plead with me in circles. I wrote “1. No LOR” and '2. will send an email for exp." on the board to end the discussion. He said this is important for his career. I said that I would not obstruct his career but would not contribute in any way. I said that he should have thought about it during the year here. He asked me what I wanted him to do. Hit by the absurdity of the question, I said after a pause, "What had to be done was during the year you spent here." He left.

I went back to the lab. Three people were there. After a longish prelude, I concluded in a moment that was too dramatic for my liking: Please don't do this.

I have been shown grace for misdeeds in my life. I don't think I have been this cocky, entitled and devious.