The Irony of Success

Typically, securing a grant is a reason for celebration. However, for Dr. Rune Linding, receiving a grant of 20,103,232 DKK (approximately $3 million) in 2013 from Innovation Fund Denmark for the "MorphoMap" project was the beginning of turmoil. This four-year endeavor aimed to elucidate the biological networks that facilitate cancer cell metastasis.

The project was a multinational collaboration involving labs from Denmark, Germany, and the United States, with Dr. Linding's lab tasked with the majority of the research. Dr. Janine Erler’s lab at KU was responsible for validation experiments using animal models and assisting with cell culture studies. Other collaborators included experts from prominent institutions such as Harvard Medical School and MIT, showcasing an impressive international team dedicated to addressing a critical health concern.

However, the reality diverged significantly from expectations. Although Dr. Linding and Dr. Erler were married and collaborated closely, their labs focused on different cancer research areas and were located at separate institutions. Dr. Erler’s lab was situated at the Biotech Research & Innovation Centre (BRIC) at KU, while Dr. Linding’s lab operated within the Department of Systems Biology at DTU. Friction between Dr. Linding and Dr. Søren Brunak, head of the Center for Biological Sequence Analysis, led to a request for Dr. Linding to step down as principal investigator, resulting in a transfer of his lab to BRIC.

This relocation appeared to be a viable solution, yet in August 2014, when the Linding lab was set to move, no space was available at BRIC. Consequently, KU continued to rent the lab's previous space at DTU until the end of September 2017. This administrative shift could have alleviated some challenges, but issues persisted.

Complications arose when Dr. Brunak appointed an "overseer," Dr. Per Hägglund, to manage all instruments and equipment purchased by the Linding lab during its DTU affiliation. This decision generated significant complications, as lab members were no longer authorized to carry out maintenance on their equipment without prior approval from Dr. Hägglund, leading to a stifling work environment.

Despite ongoing issues with equipment maintenance and limited access to shared resources at DTU, the situation escalated further. In a desperate attempt to address these challenges, Dr. Longden, a key member of the lab, reached out to Dr. Helin, expressing concerns that the project was at risk. In a shocking response, Dr. Helin threatened to inform the funding agency that the project should be terminated, suggesting that lab members would face termination.

The fallout continued when Dr. Linding and Dr. Erler divorced in 2016, prompting Dr. Linding to seek a new affiliation at the Center for GeoGenetics under Dr. Eske Willerslev at the Natural History Museum of Denmark. This transition could have aligned scientifically and personally, yet challenges persisted.

Uncovering Financial Irregularities

During the planning for the transition, Dr. Longden discovered significant financial mismanagement involving 3,755,519 DKK (over $500,000) related to the MorphoMap grant. Investigations revealed that funds were improperly allocated to cover salaries and research materials for unrelated projects in Dr. Erler's lab. Although she contributed to the grant as a collaborator, none of her lab's work aligned with the MorphoMap project.

Dr. Longden reported these discrepancies to KU's finance office, leading to the restoration of some funds. However, this did not include expenditures related to Dr. Erler's lab. With time running out and no satisfactory resolution, Dr. Longden escalated his concerns to the Dean and the Chief Financial Officer of the Faculty of Health, only to have the issues referred back to Dr. Helin. An internal investigation concluded on September 11, 2017, that no mismanagement had occurred.

Following this finding, Dr. Helin offered to return a small portion of the misappropriated funds (600,000 DKK / $90,000) to the grant. Inexplicably, Dr. Erler was asked to withdraw from the MorphoMap project, with an explanation that funds could be redirected for "related research" to benefit her lab instead. This rationale baffled those responsible for the project's budget.

In an act of desperation, Dr. Longden reached out to the Ministry of Higher Education and Science, suggesting that the lack of appropriate action indicated systemic issues of fund misuse within the department. Dr. Linding rejected the offer of partial fund restoration.

Destruction of a Research Legacy

Soon after declining this offer, the lab was rendered incapable of continuing its research. Officially, the justification was the conclusion of their rental agreement, but the administration's actions left the lab's vital research resources, including cell lines, equipment, and archived data, in limbo. Many of these materials were financed by the MorphoMap grant, along with other funding sources.

Mette Bjørnlund, an administrator at BRIC, took extreme measures against the lab, freezing all funding and terminating access to essential resources. The lab's supercomputer was deactivated, and critical data was deleted. Even more concerning, she redistributed equipment and research materials purchased with Dr. Linding's grant funds to other researchers without consent.

The chaos culminated in four lab members filing a civil lawsuit against KU on October 30, 2017. Additionally, they reported the incidents to the police, alleging embezzlement and vandalism related to the actions taken against the lab.

Engaging the Funding Agency

Innovation Fund Denmark was informed of the financial misconduct concerns raised by both Dr. Longden and Minister Søren Pind in late 2017. An investigation by the fund lasted until March 2018. The agency reviewed financial reports and project plans, ultimately concluding that the budgets for 2014 and 2015 were not in dispute. Nonetheless, they partially vindicated Dr. Longden by determining that BRIC could not justify using grant funds for unrelated projects.

By July 2018, BRIC had adjusted financial statements for 2016 and 2017, acknowledging the agency's findings and restoring some funds to the MorphoMap grant. Despite this, Dr. Linding continued to push for further investigation into the mismanagement, leading to an independent audit by Deloitte.

The audit, completed in February 2019, identified several expenses improperly charged to the MorphoMap grant. The Innovation Fund concluded that two out of four disputed expenses were misallocated, giving Dr. Longden a sense of vindication for his whistleblowing actions.

The Heartbreaking Consequences

While lab members may find some solace in this outcome, the repercussions remain dire. KU effectively destroyed critical research output associated with the MorphoMap project and others. The loss included over 500 cell lines, genomic samples, and 14 years of data, amounting to an irreplaceable setback for the scientific community.

The fallout extended to the education of PhD students and post-doctoral fellows, as their training was interrupted, and opportunities for publication were lost. The criminal investigation stemming from the police reports remains ongoing, while the civil suit continues to unfold.

In the wake of these events, KU has reorganized BRIC, with key figures in the controversy either departing or having their roles adjusted. Dr. Linding has taken a position at Humboldt University of Berlin, while Dr. Longden remains affiliated with the Linding Lab website but lacks an updated affiliation.