University probes allegations of professor's academic bullying

Shanghai Jiao Tong University's School of Biomedical Engineering announced on Thursday night that it has established a task force to investigate online complaints regarding a professor's alleged misconduct.

The announcement followed the release of an 86-minute video by Wei Jing, who identified herself as a doctoral student at the university.

In the video, which was shared across multiple social media platforms, she accused Shao Zhifeng, an American professor who was in charge of a laboratory, of "academically bullying" her.

Wei mentioned that she was a PhD student from the class of 2017. While her official supervisor was Daniel M. Czajkowsky, Shao was responsible for overseeing the laboratory where she was doing her research.

Wei alleged that Shao, who leads the school's academic degree evaluation committee, compelled her to work for him. She claimed that most PhD students in the lab usually were forced to spend eight or nine years obtaining their degrees, while some failed to get the diploma despite more than 10 years of efforts.

Wei accused Shao of appropriating her dissertation project and coercing her into completing his work. When she refused to assist him, citing her deadline to complete her studies, Shao allegedly barred her from accessing the laboratory for two years to conduct her research.

She asserted that she was dismissed from the laboratory for refusing to sign an agreement that would obligate her to finance her research while rendering her entirely accountable for any failure to graduate.

The university stated that it takes the matter seriously and will take decisive action if the allegations are substantiated.