Edit: Peach La Yan
On February 7, Eric Rand, who had been called "America's first cabinet-level scientific adviser," resigned after bullying employees. Now, 2 scientists succeed Rand, who has lost his reputation.
Within a year, Biden's chief scientific adviser stepped down.
On Feb. 17, the White House Press Office released the A New Chapter for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Prominent sociologist Alondra Nelson and genomics group leader Francis Collins will temporarily share the responsibilities of disreputable scientific adviser Eric Lander until a permanent leader is nominated and confirmed.
Francis Collins (左）Alondra Nelson（右）
2 scientists took over
On Feb. 7, Rand, once known as "America's first Cabinet-level scientific adviser," resigned after bullying, belittling, and insulting employees and violating U.S. government rules of workplace conduct.
In a letter to President Joe Biden, he wrote,
I'm very upset about the way my past and present colleagues speak hurt them. In order to achieve common goals, what I say and the way I say them sometimes crosses the line and doesn't show enough respect for my male and female colleagues... It's my fault and my responsibility.
Eric Rand's resignation will take effect no later than February 18. Meanwhile, Biden quickly nominated Rand's replacement.
According to Nature, as to why Rand's responsibilities are shared by 2 people, the American science and technology team did not give an answer.
Nelson is a distinguished sociologist who was praised by biden for her selection as deputy director of science and society at the Office for Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).
She has studied the social impact of emerging technologies and the impact of racism on science and medicine.
As Deputy Director for Science and Society in the Science and Technology Policy Group, she co-leads a working group responsible for supporting science integrity policies and protecting scientists from political interference throughout the federal government.
O'Malbar, Trump, and now Biden, medical geneticist Collins has served as president of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), leading the NIH for nearly 12 years.
He led the NIH through the early stages of the COVID-19 influenza pandemic. He is best known for leading the Human Genome Project in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
In October 2021, he announced his retirement. Now retired, he returns to the laboratory of the National Institute for human genome research to continue his research.
American Science's "Fire Captain"
Who is Eric Rand?
The 30-year-old won the MacArthur Foundation Genius Award, saying that his talent is unique, I am afraid that no one will object. He was an extremely successful geneticist. In the field of genomics, he is a pioneer.
(Eric Rand won the MacArthur Award in 1974, bottom row middle)
Perhaps his greatest achievement was mapping the human genome. At the same time, he also promoted the Human Genome Project and greatly developed CRISPR gene editing technology.
Among them, the human genome atlas was completed in the Human Genome Project, a transnational interdisciplinary mega-scientific project led by him in the 1990s.
He is also the co-founder of the Broad Institute, a joint venture between Harvard and MIT. Chinese scientist Zhang Feng and Chinese scientist Liu Ruqian are also among them, both of whom are core members of the institute.
In the past, Rand has led some of former President Barack Obama's key science projects, notably the creation of ARPA-H, a high-risk, high-reward biomedical innovation institution, and the reinvention of his "cancer moonshot program."
It is difficult for such an excellent talent not to be noticed by the US authorities. In early 2021, Biden appointed Rand as Biden's scientific adviser. On January 15, 2021, Biden wrote a letter of appointment to Rand. In the letter, Biden asked Rand five questions, each of which pointed to core issues such as scientific development and social progress.
Rand was the first life scientist to become an American scientific advisor and the first to perform his duties in a year and a half. During Trump's tenure, the position was vacant for a period of time. This appointment is the first time that the United States has promoted OSTP candidates to the level of the president's cabinet. This undoubtedly shows Biden's emphasis on science.
Biden compared the five questions in the appointment letter to four in 1944 that Roosevelt posed to Vannevar Bush, a tech adviser at the time.
Biden said he hopes that the scientific team formed this time can make an important contribution to the next 75 years of scientific development in the United States, just as Bush led the scientific team to lay the foundation for the next few decades of scientific development in the United States.
Rand also expressed anticipation for the appointment at the time.
Insulting subordinates, but unable to control themselves
Anonymous employees said Rand had some mental problems with a dual personality.
Rachel Wallace, then Rand's general counsel, filed a complaint with Christian Peele, deputy white house director of personnel administration.
"Rand retaliated against employees who raised questions outright, scolding them, belittling them, embarrassing them in front of their peers, laughing at them, avoiding them, stripping them of their duties, replacing them or kicking them out of the institution, and many women shed tears, were traumatized, vulnerable and isolated."
In addition, she claimed that Rand had taken personal revenge on her by demoting her. In September 2021, the White House officially launched a two-month investigation into it.
White House investigators found "credible evidence" that rand and the leaders of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy were extremely disrespectful when working with staff.
In addition, 14 current and former White House Office of Science and Technology Policy employees described Rand's harsh work conditions, saying rand often bullied, interrupted and fired subordinates.
There are even several articles specifically accusing him of belittling and humiliating female subordinates.
One employee said, "The most frightening thing is that he brazenly carries out public abuse." After insulting me many times in front of his colleagues, Rand admitted that he couldn't control himself and said I hated doing it."
And this is not the first time he has been in a scandal. Previously, he had "underestimated" the contributions of two female scientists in discovering gene editing technology and apologized for it.
In addition, he was involved in a scandal involving sex offender Jeffery Epstein in his early stages of his work.
Rand, the top Scientist of the United States, has completely fallen off the altar.
Resources:
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00484-x
https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/news-updates/2022/02/17/a-new-chapter-for-the-white-house-office-of-science-and-technology-policy/
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/07/eric-lander-resigns-00006545
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/07/eric-lander-white-house-investigation-00006077