CRG, Barcelona, Spanish/Catalan science: yet another way to carry out research activity (and lies even to the Court)

Update after Court hearing:
Luis Serrano, CRG Director, lied to the Court

Here are the threats of legal persecution I've got from CRG, Barcelona, signed by Managing Director Bruna Vives on behalf of the Centre and Luis Serrano, CRG Director, of course. Look at the Centre for Genomic Regulation at their finest in intimidating and disrespect.
My notes are below the copies (clickable to enlarge).

Spanish version:

1. Here we have a classical actus reus.
2. This threatening from CRG, Barcelona under the claim to keep «professional secrecy» (are these people even sane?) and «confidentiality», i.e. the claim to keep silence about their excellence in research misconduct, followed by these threats where I'm named as «and / or» doing even something «criminal», — look like fit of anger unless just laughable. They are supposed to represent a Spanish intellectual elite, aren't they?
3. Solely this claim to keep their threats confidential (see also the bottom of the pages) should be enough to launch the investigation on the activity of the top employees of CRG, including here-below mentioned favorite of Luis Serrano, CRG Director (ah, all right… she's supposed to be on the top anyway…).
4. NDA (appendix to the work contract) I signed, concerned the contract in force or expired.
   My contract is not expired or in force: it was interrupted (terminated — as they've recognized it themselves in their threat) by CRG, Barcelona due to alleged disobedience to another employee who was not even my immediate superior, the latter was silently dismissed from being such, excluded from the working process and substituted by incompetent, but badly ambitious and passively aggressive Director's favorite, Maria Lluch Senar, as a «co-leader» of the project with so peculiar correspondence style (how come that such individuals can even get MS and even PhD in Spain?)
5. I was slandered and mobbed by this M Lluch-Senar, CRG staff scientist (intensively supported by her patron, Luis Serrano, CRG Director in whatever she's been saying about me) several times, she announced me that I'd be dismissed anyway the very next day after she was set as my boss by Luis Serrano. Luis Serrano was persistently coercing me, in written too, to talk only alone with his favorite (who by the way is craving for a PI position and her henpecked is desperate to help her). I called for CRG's Conflict Resolution Committee, which has completely ignored my complains and followed Luis Serrano's non-negotiable instructions forcing me to recognize scientific authority of his favorite, who persistently lied about my personality, aggressively refusing to get or accept any technical reasoning out of her competence.
   Moreover. She was misleading me with data sources and urging me to work with erroneous data concocted by herself.
   I said no.
   I was given «24 hours» to confirm my response.
   I was fired by the end of the same week.
6. CRG was already clearly told off about the neglect of their duty and reputation — they have completely disrespected the words of the conciliation officer, they have even refused to present themselves directly on the hearing.
   They had given no care to their reputation then and now suddenly they have recalled and decided to take care about it, starting with threats, apparently from the bottom of their hearts and their notion of what the (academic) culture is. Surely they don't just perform only a bare money laundering using their positions in Spanish science.
   Now they claim that one of their former, thrown out on the streets, employee is damaging their «honour» or «reputation» even «with the intention».
   
   Dear CRG, Luis and Bruna,
   
   • If it's possible for you to put a word «or» between «honour» and «reputation» which you claim you have (after you have lied so dishonourably) — then, obviously, only an upper authority could explain you something about what honour and reputation are: it seems you're still uncertain about these entities. No wonder you have failed to keep them intact.
     You did it on your own.
     No one has forced you to behave like you have.
     Paraphrasing Bertolt Brecht («Vertrauen wird dadurch erschöpft, daß es in Anspruch genommen wird»), your honour and reputation begin to vanish the very moment you claim you have them damaged the way you do it, — especially after you were utterly unable to display at least a minimum respect to your employee, let alone the kind of integrity you have shown as pertinent to you.
     My story is just a shadow on the sand in the background of your behaviour and culture. I'm too small comparing to your own self-exposure.
     «We trust that your knowledge, skills and experience will be among our most valuable assets» — remember the text of your offer? — you gave no respect to any of thus enumerated (by your own) qualities. That's why the only point you could use to attack me with your misconduct was a «discipline».
     Which is ridiculous since you do not have any notion of what it is.
     Not to mention work ethics.
   • I don't damage your «honour or reputation» as you claim «with the intention».
     I speak out, that's it.
   And of course I would only greet an independent open investigation of your professional activity and of its compliance with your own Code of Good Scientific Practice.
   Even then I doubt that it could depreciate your significance and self-worth acquired with such diligence by your so creative advertising of your excellence, with your passionate appeal for money throughout your much more conspicuous networking, connections, pulls and of course… well… social network accounts. Just don't stop disseminate food & drinks for your subscribers and sponsors as you used to do it: to make sure they would love your excellent science.
   And, Bruna, seriously… I am so sorry, but having known now the story of your appointment, this your threatening burofax speech looks like a sincere coming out, especially when it's read in Spanish. But of course, of course, it's not how it looks like.

Given the whole story I reckon that the above text is not too harsh and I apologize if someone's sensitive feelings are touched, —
Katerina aka Catherine

Story archive in Dropbox

Plain summary of what happened in CRG, Barcelona

Firing for disobedience from scientific institution: how scientists demand obedience and recognition of their scientific authority, some very certain scientific authority: after having claimed to recognize the scientific authority of his favorite, Director of CRG, Barcelona, Luis Serrano, got refusal (in particular, because his favorite used to concoct data for processing).
But the resistance to filthy data manipulation and concoction was oppressed — inconvenient for them rebel computer scientist was fired.

Here are some notes of a computer scientist's experience (Mar'2016 — Dec'2016) who was very near to get a TBI^*) while working with Maria Lluch, CRG's staff scientist.
The latter has been promoting her scientific career servicing to Luis Serrano, CRG's Director for his private needs, which, however extraneous or ugly it may look like, hands down should not be whoever else's business unless the research integrity and well-being of another persons were drastically affected and put in a shambles.
In previous posts you can see mainly inside description (with the copies of emails and other documents) of the working and firing process performed within the walls of «an international biomedical research institute of excellence» — i.e. CRG, EMBL outstation in Barcelona: the torture of mobbing and lies with yet hardly believable outcome lasted for several months.
(Court hearing was scheduled for the end of Jan, 2018 as this was in Spain, so very apt country for misconduct being unabated).
The only excuse for so direct summary of what happened is that the nature of Maria Lluch-Senar's job at CRG and peculiar success is of no secret within those walls, also due to quite open demonstration of her deep connection, way far to be really intellectual, with her patron accompanied by «the closest person, his right hand, she can fire anyone» (indeed! not to mention full access to CRG director's desktop…), so forth interesting confessions and blatant research misconduct.

It's worth to mention, that all this shame is silently supported and even sponsored with millions of € grants both by EMBL (European Molecular Biology Laboratory) and ERC (European Research Council)

Story archive in Dropbox

Luis Serrano and Maria Lluch reject conciliation under a weird pretext; Luis Serrano, CRG director, lies to the Court

«Academia is full of rogue scientists doing their own shit using public assets»

These people turned out to be unable to stand up to their own deed.

On 06 Feb'17 in Barcelona there was a conciliation meeting with the CRG's legal representative about legitimacy of a computer scientist's dismissal from this Spanish research institution.
CRG's legal representative was a young girl from a lawyer firm, so they decided to spend money for the legal service, having their own legal department.

This girl has burst into tears after being told off by the official in the conciliation office (Department de Treball, Afers Socials i Families, Generalitat de Catalunya).
She had nothing to do with these people and she took it hard.

Conciliation officer (Maria Bachs) told that she met such disrespect the first time in her practice: when a public organization (scientific one!) which can't help admitting the breach of the law is so disrespectful to it, also clearly demonstrating no care about its public reputation and lack of responsibility.
So unless the following is signs of corruption and rogue science, there should be another reasonable explanation.

They had to admit that the dismissal was illegal, but they said that they want to bring the case to the Court because they are «accountable for the money».

How is it consistent with the payment to the off-site company for a legal service, having it their own on site?

But there were a lot of weird inconsistencies in this case, please see below.

Update: Court hearing is scheduled for 31 January 2018. This is Spain.

Update, Feb 2018:

1. A year ago they ignored conciliation officer's suggestion to accept that the dismissal was illegal and make things done: i.e. to pay out a small fine (~ one month wage) to me and give me a paper confirming that dismissal was illegal, their representative also told then that they need the decision of the Court to make that small payment.
   Now they've started with their style of menaces again, urging me to accept the following proposal: before the Court they admit that the dismissal was illegal and pay me that money, but in turn© I have to purge all materials on them I put online. They pay that ridicule fine, I clean, they go scot-free, as if nothing happened, as if they did nothing wrong and as if I am doing here even something criminal. If I do not accept this — they're going to carry out their threats.
   I don't.
   I said no lies.
   
   What did kinda surprise me — that Spanish Court did not find anything abnormal in their menaces^*), neither noticed any contradiction in their proposal with its own decision at the end. The judge had a look rather petulant by me declining their menaces.
   And all that looked really quite medieval to me…
   
   
2. On the Court hearing Luis Serrano, CRG Director, came to witness me «constantly refusing» to talk to his favorite, M Lluch Senar.
   That was yet another sheer lie (unless just comical):
   I've updated the DropBox with the copies of correspondence which happened a month before my dismissal when I had to explain to M Lluch Senar, biochemist, (© L. Serrano) how mass-spec really works (she tries to show up herself as if she understands it but pretty dumb to get a simple point). Finally, from the 3rd attempt, she gets it and even thanks me, reminding me one more time that I'd be fired anyway. She's been obsessed repeating that in near every second her email with cc to Luis Serrano. I bet that seemed so sexy to her patron.
   Chat between me and her is mentioned in the beginning of that correspondence. So the meeting was with me and her alone, at my initiative because in that case that did make sense.
   Luis Serrano was well aware of the meeting, he was in cc.
   In fact, I refused no meeting with his favorite. I've been just asking for assistance as she used to be damn blind, aggressive and incompetent, sabotaging any communication with the lab people and involved in the project colleagues.
   
   That wasn't the only lie he told to the Court, also he lied about me unrelated to his starring in «I think what maria proposed does not make any sense» — that was in fact said after me trying to explain Maria the same, but not that way directly. I just did not discarded her suggestion completely (that'd be too risky! but minding now Serrano's confession to the Court — see in DropBox Court's decision: his favorite reported on me unsuitable for her right around the same time!)
   The related email is now on the DropBox too (my actual boss was in cc of course and Luis Serrano was surely reacting on this correspondence).
   
   
3. The third lie:
   The CRG representative told the Court (and Luis Serrano repeated it) that I was given 3 months to follow discipline I allegedly violated.
   In fact, next day after Serrano told me that his favorite M Lluch Senar is my boss (yet another one, as I still had to ask my official boss for holidays and the like), less than 3 months before my dismissal, I've got a letter from her, that she had «talked with Luis and he said me that he has given you the opportunity to work for three months in the lab and to finish the project». That is I was told I'd be fired anyway. Serrano was in cc in that email (it is in DropBox too).
   No way he didn't know, I was pointing on that assertion (that I'd be fired anyway) to the HR, Conflict resolution Committee. They didn't care, they served to M Lluch-Senar and her henpecked one like the dogs, despite the law — «it'll be illegal and you can go to the Court then». Well, we'll kill you, what's the matter — your relatives can go to the Court then (the Court won't find anything wrong in that).
   Luis Serrano, CRG Director, lied to the Court.
   
   Not to mention the repeated falsehood about Conflict Resolution Committee, implying that they called for it (yet another lie — who could think that my call for it they'd basely use for themselves…), and about the reason of my transfer to Serrano lab, in order to mob and fire actually, as he implicitly confirmed himself: his favorite report on me that she's unhappy to work with me (meanwhile, after her discussion with me and he writes to several colleagues that her proposals make no sense) and he transfers me to his lab coercing me to talk to Sra. Lluch only alone.
   
   Needless to say now that this Spanish Court did not give the floor to me unless defendant party would have asked for it. And of course they were not interested to ask.

So this Spanish/Catalan Court has taken CRG Director's words as they are along with their dismissal notice as a proof of my disobedience and made decision that my dismissal was legal. You can enjoy reading on DropBox their decision: nothing from my part is even mentioned…
— yet another achievement of Spanish science and Social Justice ⚖️ in Spain/Catalunya… But thank Providence and post medieval (post-fascist?) world: otherwise I'd have been put on fire literally, in the Auto-da-fé (or shot dead by these franquists).

---

*) artículo 169 del Código Penal of Spain: «Amenazas son un delito o una falta… el anuncio de un mal futuro ilícito que es posible… con la finalidad de causar inquietud o miedo…» = «Threats are a crime or a fault ... the announcement of a bad illicit future that is possible ... with the purpose of causing concern or fear ...»

Luis Serrano, CRG, forces to talk alone with Maria Lluch Senar and… a certain «indicator, a precursor and a result of» corruption

(yes, that was spooky!)
…whereas what Maria Lluch proposes «does not make any sense» © Luis Serrano, CRG director
(and that was very true)

This is all about scientific institution. This is where your tax money goes to…

How much money, for instance? — see here (H2020) in general,
more exactly: €2,454,522: ERC-2014-ADG grant [1]
So the DB for Mycoplasma project should have been funded from this money…

First, ask yourself: what would you do if a blatant liar aggressively required from you recognition of her scientific authority (whereas it's way far to be even necessary)?
And what if she were supported by her patron?

CRG is «an international biomedical research institute of excellence»

CRG mission, vision and values:
«Integrity, ethics and social responsibility»

Oops! Really??

Dictation to process concocted data, coercion to talk only alone (that was felt very awkward) with someone allegedly responsible, but utterly incompetent, work without necessary collaboration, repeated threats, bullying, slandering, repeated lies, and dismissal at the end — was this all included in that «integrity», «ethics» and «social responsibility»?

«Now I did a job. I ain't got nothing but trouble since I did it... not to mention more than a few unkind words as regard to my character. So let me make this abundantly clear» © Firefly

Luis Serrano Pubul: «I think what maria proposed does not make any sense»
A few months later the very same person fired the main addressee of this letter for refusal to recognize the same maria's scientific authority — interesting, isn't it?

On 06/07/16 18:39, Luis Serrano Pubul wrote:
> Dear Katerina
> Could we meet next week [...]?
> I think what maria proposed to connect directly to the MS raw data or sequencing data does not make any sense.

All right. Very true. But wait, what?

Luis Serrano Pubul: «You need to leave the lab if you do not talk with her alone»

On 15/11/16 10:26, Luis Serrano Pubul wrote:
> Katerina I can try to be there, but remember what we discussed if you cannot work with Maria and you cannot talk with her alone you need to leave the lab end of December. She is your boss for the project.
> Thanks
> Luis
>
> From: Katerina Kirsanоvа
> Sent: martes, 15 de noviembre de 2016 10:21 a.m.
> Cc: Luis Serrano Pubul
> Subject: Re:
>
> Dear Luis,
> I wouldn't like to discuss it with Maria tete-a-tete, please.
> I just need the doc file with specification on the formats.
>
> Cheers, -
> Catherine
> El 11/15/16 a las 07:45, Maria Lluch Senar escribió:
>> Hi Katerina
>> We can talk about MS files at 16,30. Is it ok for you?

Of course they perfectly knew that Katerina could talk alone with Maria.
But when you're threatened and coerced to talk alone with someone no matter what is going on and no matter whether your job requires work collaboration — this feels flat out wrong, at very least it makes you just sick. Moreover, if you're already absolutely certain: you cannot give them what they are eager to get from you — and that is not your job and professional skills.

K. was doomed anyway, Luis was playing here as by the time of this his email, several weeks before it, M Lluch-Senar already wrote K. that K. would be fired anyway:

On 28/09/16 14:23, Maria Lluch Senar wrote:
> I have talked with Luis and he said me that he has given you the opportunity to work for three months in the lab and to finish the project.
[NB: K. had 5 years contract signed by Luis Serrano on behalf of CRG, it turned out to be just a sheet of paper. No respect to a person whatsoever, neither to their own legislation]

Maria wrote that (with cc to CRG Director, i.e. Luis Serrano Pubul) the very next day after K. was told that Maria is her boss: the day before this email, on 27/09/16, Luis told K. in his office that for K. to save her job he gave her 3 months to get along 1) with Maria and 2) with the people in the lab — as at the same time K. was falsely accused that she can work with no one, — so if K. gets along with no one then K. is fired.
In reality both these two so nice «warrants» were put away almost immediately.
«There's no honor among thieves» (even «end of December» was a lie… — turned out the middle of December)
K. had no problems whatsoever with the folks in the lab, that was too obvious, but certainly did not matter: apparently Maria was already promised that after 3 months «the toy» would be discarded.

From Library of the European Parliament, «Conflicts of interest in public administration», 05/02/2013:

[1] Isn't it piquant:

Chair of Women In Science/Gender Balance Committee at CRG,
Isabelle Vernos is at the same time…
— Director's (Luis Serrano's) wife & member of the ERC Scientific Council!

Hence the party looks even more languishing: there is a certain «indicator, a precursor and a result of» corruption.
CRG Director's wife, his favorite or other closed to him more than others women-in-science — all of them surely have gotten the unquestionable scientific awards and perks: panels, committees, conference trips, etc — you know how creatively and productively modern scientists spend public money, — having such kind of a pull is apparently normal for Spain or Spanish science. But for an outside observer the question remains: what exactly those Women In Science™ were awarded for?

But otherwise. What was that?
Franco style (á la féminin) of management in science?
Hard to bring up other allusions...

All right, in reality Franco was adhered to the family values otherwise, more traditional way.
This case was an advanced modern version of Spanish neo-franquist modus operandi. Kinda harem way (or alfonsish way.. depending on the perspective.. lol) , surely with the greatest respect to the wives, so worth women with their financial or otherwise depending servants at their also very traditional service. But traditional otherwise. Epitome of women in science and men at women, in their ways to serve. For science, of course. You'd rather dream to join them!

More picante details on the family bounds (see the thread)…

Timeline of the project for the Mycoplasma DB at CRG

«You should realize that Maria can get fired everyone, even me» [HR]

K. made this schema (updated with last events) for Conflict Resolution Committee at CRG.

Later the CRG Administration dishonourably implied (see below) that this Committee was allegedly called to make her follow the discipline. But that was the other way around: the Committee was called for by K. to resolve the issues with Maria Lluch's professional misconduct and incompetence.

All fairly appropriate Committee's suggestions (transfer K. to another lab, Luis Serrano supervising project as its real leader) were rejected by Luis Serrano, who was forcing K. to recognize his favorite's (i.e. Maria Lluch's) scientific authority: that was his «non-negotiable requirement» (see below)

[click to enlarge]

Working ambiance at CRG, the research institution

K.: It's already more than a month when I've been doing almost nothing…
M. Lluch-Senar [chuckles, to Luis Serrano]: Luis, Katerina wants to work!

A few weeks later Maria Lluch, being unable to set a proper task for several months before that, is announced as a boss for K.. The next day after that Maria Lluch writes to K. with cc to Luis Serrano that K. is going to be fired in 3 months (she was indeed fired in 2 months and a half).

«…this is not England or Europe, here there is no honor or ethics, just pure corruption»
[a colleague]

Maria Lluch Senar: colors of the work correspondence, data manipulation

Remember the time when scientific debates were open and public?
Maria's comment on the 3rd point below (all in red… doesn't it ring a bell?) is extremely marvelous.
Don't miss the moment of the new proteins discovery when she will find them.
Especially after she finds someone to process concocted by herself Excel files of >100Mb, 15 spreadsheets each…
which are… ta-dam! — a «new format» © Maria Lluch Senar
— hand-made copy-pastes from standard mass spec files which were already processed.

Then ask yourself a fair question:
Why the hell the standardized files from the machine had to be concocted by Maria's hand before the analysis and processing into the DB?
Why she was so eager to make her own «new format» though being utterly illiterate in the subject of standardization and data formats for analysis/DB processing?

So when you seem to be involved into a quite probable scientific misconduct (the negligent data making up, actually sheer data manipulation!) by a person who repeatedly lies, spreads slander and intrigues behind someone's back — think about that you may become a scapegoat at the end. Even if you only get stained — it's still the shame.
Yes, it is awkward to read…
But much more shameful thing is to be cowed by a person who made her move up to the position she holds by a very questionable way.
And to realize why this her way up is so questionable and shameful for a scientist: enough to see how she avoids open discussion and open exchange of the opinions. Enough to have it experienced — of how she's been craving to fuck K.'s brain claiming to be alone with herself.

When a person, who repeatedly stresses you out, disrupts your work and utterly unable to openly and constructively discuss the project with all involved parties — it's freaking disgusting when the very same person also claims to have you alone with herself: indeed just to fuck you (your brain actually but when your brain is violently fucked — it hurts unbearably).

P.S. in this email below K' words are only those of black font 

[click to enlarge]

Above we can see the favorite Maria's trip up, used repeatedly in her emails to K.:
«If you think that changing the pipeline to consider the new format is not possible please let us know and we will find the way to implement it».

She's been absolutely unable to perceive any explanations why her undoubtedly genius idea just would not work: her arrogance and ignorant obtrusion of the way how the data analysis (which is not her expertise at all) should be technically carried out just must be accepted with complete obedience no matter how feasible it is to perform at least partially. As soon as you start bringing her technical reasoning, however best you try keeping patience etc — she gets aggressive almost immediately throwing at you here-above quoted her favourite trip up.

Literally: «I am the one with the scientific authority here — you only must listen and follow! You cannot follow my genius ideas? — Shut up! Fired!!»

Yet another money laundry case under the brand of so called MycoSynVac? generously funded by ERC (European Research Council).

Luis Serrano, CRG director, led by Maria Lluch-Senar: negotiating

The most funny thing in the doc below is their «in turn» after the claim for recognition which they were utterly unable to get the decent way. You recognize someone's so shamefully unsatisfied scientific authority and direct supervision and… ta-dam! — «in turn» they allow you to do your job!
NB: scientific authority here is an exclusive right for Maria Lluch to fuck your brain being alone with you and then to lie about you whatever shit she invents — her patron Luis Serrano would support it by any means.
You have to talk alone with her: this is what they repeatedly claimed, whereas having Maria's ambitions together with incompetence in the subject and aggression, there is no other word than «brainfucking» for what she was doing with you tet-à-tet.

Interestingly, «Relocation of Catherine's workplace outside of Serrano's group should be considered» was firstly suggested by the Committee, but then stroke out by those claiming for recognition of the «scientific authority»… Introduced again, but no: «recognize or perish!» — see p. 6 in first version of the Committee below, p. 5 was also rejected: no collaboration, shut up! No witnesses for what we'd force you to do!

Juan Valcarcel was contacted by K. in private: she asked him to save her from bullying and she called for Conflict Resolution Committee to protect her from M Lluch Senar's bullying as it was fully supported by CRG Director and looked as a mobbing. Instead J. Valcarcel actually had joined the party: K. was fired for refusal to accept «non-negotiable requirement from Luis, i.e. that Catherine must recognize the scientific authority of Maria» since the behaviour of the latter looked as a sheer research misconduct.
James Sharpe (recently appointed Director of the EMBL's outstation in Barcelona) also joined to this mobbing, K. asked him for assistance as well, but on behalf of Luis Serrano he claimed the same from her: K. asked for protection, instead she was coerced to recognise scientific authority of the person she asked to protect her from! — nice, isn't it?
Still… it feels better to believe that at least James sincerely wanted to help.

The claim of this «scientific recognition» was at very least unnecessary (though ridiculous!) unless yet another sign of the Spanish(?) corruption which at no point K. could accept as appropriate to follow. It's worth to mention that to the meeting on this so called Conflict Resolution Committee, M Lluch Senar came along accompanied by her patron — «because she's his co-leader of the project» (Juan Valcarcel) — so much ridiculous again: rather her professional qualities and culture just could not guarantee the adequate reporting.

This is first (rejected) version of the here-above mentioned document:

— «absence of threats from all parts» is put quite sneaky, as K. never menaced anyone, that was other way round and she just asked for stopping to threaten her (though she had to recognize fascist-style authority of whoever had threatened her).
But we can forgive this Juan Valcarcel as he's been benefiting from ERC grants á merci of Director's wife…

Luis Serrano, Coordinator of the Systems Biology Programme at the Centre for Genomic Regulation in Barcelona, Spain, and recipient of a €2 million ERC Advanced Investigator Grant for five years, said the requirement of keeping time sheets is at best a waste of time and worst an insult to the high-level researchers. “Time sheets do not make much sense, to be honest. If you want to cheat, you can always cheat,” he said. He said other grants he receives from the Spanish government and the Human Frontier Science Programme do not require time sheets [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2933871/]

— looks like here, Luis, there was that sure case when you were not cheating… and you were right about yourself: secured by your position, if you want to cheat, you can always cheat.

Maria Lluch Senar & Luis Serrano Pubul, working with them: K. calls for Conflict Resolution Committee

See here who actually has called for the Committee. Then see how they put it in their dismissal notice below. So mean. And such a shame for the prominent lecturer on ethic subjects in science.

First his «co-leader» of the project excludes you from any work collaboration, then slanders that you «can work with no one» and then he completely supports that slander — so nice, isn't it? 

But indeed it was just a part of their freak show:

«A non-negotiable requirement from Luis, i.e. that Catherine must recognize the scientific authority of Maria as co-leader of the project and work under her direct supervision, remains unacceptable for Catherine. Therefore the Conflict Resolution Committee has been unable to find a common ground for understanding between the parts on this key issue and regretfully concludes that a conciliation process is not possible under the current conditions»
(email from the Committee of 13/12/16 10:40)

At no point this coercion was really necessary for the Mycoplasma project. Quite on the contrary, looking at its history: it was harmful for it. Indeed it was just a real plot for research misconduct.

And of course this, along with the fact who actually called for the Committee was not quoted in their dismissal notice.
They dishonourably used this Committee just to make it part of the concocted evidence of insubordination.

Ignored email: really, it was just hopeless

Subject: Re: NCBI's starts/ends...
Date: Thu, 1 Dec 2016 17:39:09 +0100

Dear all,

Please discuss the format in open and constructive manner.
As there is a strict standardization and DB processing rule «Excel is forbidden» (see: here was a pic forwarded later, see below)
the format should be a reasonable amounts of tab-separated text files uploaded one-by-one.
Each of this text files should not exceed 10Mb to be uploaded and processed in a reasonable time.
Each column of each file should be described in detail.
File names should have meaning and described in details otherwise text field in the upload interface should be filled in.

Current processing and analysis is done for 2-spreadsheet Excel files (no more than 10Mb of size) as a trade-off for accurate format description (done by Luis) of a standard files of results coming from a proteomics experiment and my good will to make all my best for the lab.

Processing of Excel files into the DB with analysis on the fly is not a common practice and generally is not accepted due to obstruct capacity to support the standards and analysis as consistent and reasonable prompt.
So CSV only (XML/JSON for those biologists who want die hard is an option too).

However, once the standard is created and described the way it was done by Luis and with the participation/by a professional IT specialist it is still possible to make sure that service is scalable and reliable.

Thanks, —
Catherine

— this is the referenced pic of the outstanding cruelty (actually called the extreme despair), and K. was summoned to the Administrative Director office then, and then of course K. apologized to the only one affected poor kid…

Maria Lluch & Luis Serrano at CRG, Barcelona: lies, damned lies and dismissal notice

Dismissal notice (the same day got, the same day fired)

Conflict Resolution Committee of the CRG was called by Katerina, not by Maria Lluch & Luis Serrano, as they so basely imply it in their dismissal notice (see below).

Also in this document they have actually just repeated their slander — see as well in the time line schema: «no one can work with you, you have bad communication with everyone» — this was said to Katerina in September as their reply on her question: why they wanted her to move in the lab if they asserted that she was so bad as a person?
They asserted this shit («no one can work with you») after she had agreed to move in the lab in July: she was told then that they wanted her to move because they needed for her expertise. Would you agree to move in the lab when you're told that you can work with no one? The last trip up was especially nice from them whereas initially M Lluch-Senar had excluded Katerina from any communications with data providers even though it was an utter requirement for the tasks which Katerina had to perform. So she was working alone and had to figure on her own what were the data sources, and, surely, everything was fine with the other colleagues, no communication problems, just normal lab folks, who have been just helpful and nice. Otherwise, without them, the project could not move at all. But it has moved, please see its timeline: at no point that progress owed to Maria Lluch's activity, which was appallingly destructive.

Also in CRG's dismissal notice they have lied explaining the reason for the dismissal as if it was a repeated insubordination to Maria Lluch, i.e. to the favorite of Luis Serrano, CRG Director. She was not even an official boss of K., she was only set up as such after already having been set up as a project co-leader (exclusively by the authority of her patron). Yet right before Luis Serrano has appointed M Lluch Senar to be a boss for K. (with no documents, no signatures of course), Maria Lluch slandered K. that K. can work with no one.
And immediately after announcing her slander M Lluch Senar wrote to K. that the latter would be fired anyway. Nice, isn't it?

The truth is that firstly it was repeated harassment, slander and repeated lies.
Maria Lluch's misconduct and incompetence, imposed as her «scientific authority» and unaccepted by K. (and the acceptance of that was not her duty at all), K's refusal to give in to data manipulation had that cost: the dismissal.

— it turned out they were too shy to speak English in this disgraceful act, K. had got it only in Spanish.
However later CRG, Barcelona gave a care to translate their threats in English (international scientific institution of excellence) — it seems for them it was really important that K. would have gotten those threats.

Full text of the email they quote in their dismissal notice

Subject: Re: MS data
Date: Tue, 29 Nov 2016 15:20:49 +0100
Dear Maria,
I am sorry, I cannot comment on this.
I expect you respect your colleagues and able to communicate in a calm and professional manner by email and in person.
I see you do not understand the standardization subject and I am very able to prove it to a professional commission if its needed.
I also clearly see that you are getting passively aggressive and disrespectful, you are trying to undermine me on my professional field which is ridiculous and unacceptable. I think you have to apologize.
So I am sorry, I have nothing to ask you in person.
Regards, —
Catherine

— this was K.'s reply to M Lluch-Senar's email quoted here-above (the one with the red font).

(signatures, K.'s & of Bruna Vives Prat, CRG managing director, are dimmed)
So the actual reason for the dismissal: you «must recognize the scientific authority of Maria as co-leader of the project and work under her direct supervision alone» otherwise you are fired. No one else should witness their research misconduct and data manipulation.
Let alone senseless orders to reformat files just to keep you busy («new formatting did not matter, your 1st version was absolutely fine» — a colleague commented while working with that file).
This is how these cool scientists spend public money and do science now days. They send murky messages with messy content, several files of >10Mb sent by email, «new format» © Maria Lluch Senar represented by two >100Mb Excel files with 15 spreadsheets each with hand-made copy-paste — to process all this shit into the DB.
Then they harass a professional who tries to explain how the data should have been processed. And these are just ordinary examples from a routine intellectual work process (paid by public money) of a rock star scientist with «I have many publications» — yet another shining clause of M Lluch-Senar intellectual argumentation.
This rock star scientist which is unable to create on her own a single document (without her patron) or a literate email. The same so gifted person is unable to make a tiny bit effort to grasp one simple thing: what the standards for datafile procession are. Whatever you're trying to explain her, however you try to reach for her mind — «in turn» © this person just harasses you and keeps claiming for recognition of her poor scientific authority.
Remarkably all those harassments supplemented by these wretched claims were fully supported by the top manager of the scientific institution.
Intellectual reasoning? Logical reasoning? Whatever fair damn reasoning?
Come on, bow and scrape and thank Universe, that these so great scientists could not call for the authorized science gestapo to help them out: they have only fired you because you had dared to question the authority of a really cool scientist whose favourite trip up in reply on any reasoning on the subject was just: «If you cannot do this work let us know and we will look for another way to do that».
Which was exceptionally ridiculous for this really cool scientist because «them» had no clue whatsoever about any way how their data could be processed in particular and how the scientific data are usually processed into the DB as that was not their expertise whatsoever. But surely «they» had authority to impose on you any by-products from «their» so beautiful minds.
Because. You. Cannot. Period.
— intellect, culture, work ethic here are so blatantly demonstrated that you just lose the gift of speech…
Why the data analyst has been coerced to work with concocted data and had been denied the direct contact with the data producers?
Why that so damn bright scientist who, as we're sure, is Maria Lluch, — why she was so eager to interfere between the data and a data analyst, why the hell she had to concoct that shameful hand made copy-paste Excel spreadsheets (tens megabytes), which she was unable/unwilling to put in a group repository and thus sent it by email, instead of allowing the professional to work with the data sources directly?
MS data were already processed into the DB according to the format, suggested by the project leader, Luis Serrano, Director of CRG — why this very format was refuted by his favourite and why Luis Serrano, Director of CRG had to obey M Lluch-Senar and why did he let her to make dirty manipulations with data?
Why on the Earth she's been so craving for that bow and scrape?
How the hell do they spend public money then? — they hire a professional, then perform their mobbing actions against her attacking her purely on personal ground, gaslighting and slandering about her relations with other colleagues with nonsense allegations (because there is no other way to attack her) for several months and at the end just fire her after more than 9 months without giving her any credit for the job she's been doing for them.
Is it a Franquist style of modernized Spanish science or what??
And at the and — why the Staff Scientist Maria Lluch Senar and the CRG Director Luis Serrano Pubul had to lie so shamelessly?
These are fairly good questions.
And finally, how come the path of the apparent scientific misconduct was the easiest choice for them?…

picture is taken from this article on scientific misconduct: Scientific misconduct & its effect on the medical literature
(as much as it affects biomed sciences)

Here is my twitter account: @JWapatoo where I post current updates on this case and my relaxed attitude, i.e. after me being put under pressure and stress, it is naturally personalized unlike expressed as such while I am on duty where I'm restrained by professional standing rules and contract clauses.

«You should be stressed as you are still in initial closely watched period»
© Julia Ponomarenko
(4 months after start of the contract… + «you have to satisfy Luis» — publicly, several times, in the same context: «do you care too much what people say about you?» —
nice vibrant and so motivating working atmosphere, isn't it?)
These people don't even give a damn about the fact that a professional engineer, doing brainwork, can be only either productive or stressed.
Never both. Obviously, if quality results are to be provided.
Or, there is no need for data integrity in all this so playful scientific ambiance?
Or, these scientists — do they use their own brain for professional purposes?
P.S. CRG, represented by its Director Luis Serrano and PI Juan Valcarcel, does support scientific fraud of their PI MP Cosma — please see by these links an article of Leonid Schneider and PubPeer comments.