Maria Lluch Senar & Luis Serrano Pubul: manipulations and lies, extracts from emails and talks

K. presented the following style of Maria Lluch-Senar's communications to the Conflict Resolution Committee at CRG, she called for it and as she was asked for evidence she highlighted for them the most odd quotes. From her point of view.

They have not found them really abnormal. They rather silently agreed to be sneakily used by this Maria Lluch-Senar' for her dismissal. She have had a correspondence with Juan Valcarcel, genuinely presuming his independence, but no one from the Committee expressed any sorry to her after all.
Juan Valcarcel just told K. quietly and smiling that the dismissal would be illegal and K. could go to the court then. Nice kids, really.
You lose your job, never mind, this is just our game with us playing people.
Moreover, it turned out this Committee was a fake, a set-up: K. called for it and... Boom! In their dismissal note, later to the Court they lied that the Committee was asked to make K. follow the discipline. Isn't it graceful?

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Getting their (Maria Lluch-Senar's & Luis Serrano's) «no one can work with you», «you cannot work with users», «no one can understand what you are doing» and other bullshit like that, just as a way to oppress her, — every time K. heard that she just felt utterly stunned.
(NB: at the same time Maria was blocking any communications with other people in the lab and misleading K. with data sources)
It was told her repeatedly as a method of Maria's stunning intellectual argumentation in response to any technical reasoning too, further absolutely supported by Luis, except only a single one first time (see above) when apparently he dared to openly express his own opinion on the subject (genial Maria' ideas), yet appears that later he was strictly prohibited to be that assertive.
Hopefully he wasn't beaten for that and didn't suffer too much :-|
K. could not get it: how come that people who consider themselves as scientists happened to turn over rabid liars?
What about science they do? If they are lying that at ease…
K:

It should be done this way. Data are normally processed the way I suggest, at least to assure system consistency and data integrity.

Maria:

You have to obey me.
Doesn't matter that it won't work.
Do what I said to do.
This is you who can work with no one.
If you cannot do my way we find someone else who will do what I say
whatever shit I order to do.

— in italics it was said literally.
Again and again. The very same people have been repeatedly requiring to recognize their scientific authority. Franco style? Or what was that?

 There is this a bit nationalistic anecdote which fits very well to the story with this their Maria Lluch-Senar:

— When someone (Frenchman, German, Englishman, Chinese etc) is caught red handed with a freshly robbed thing they:

1) beg a mercy 2) try to get rid of a thing 3) try to run away

— When a Spaniard is caught red handed s/he yells: «you just want to spoil my shiny reputation!»

Sad, but true. Yet another stereotype was confirmed one more (and more, and more…) time.
Whoever lie that much — they are very easy to carry on with all possible manipulations, slandering, reversal off your own claims against you and any vile tactics to take over you by any means.
If they can't fight you, they lie about you.

Support bacteria! — they're the only culture some people have!…

…in their labs

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)

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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 

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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…