In defense of Dr. Joseph Nevins after ‘60 Minutes’ piece

Dear Duke colleagues,

On the evening of Feb. 12 I watched the production by “60 Minutes” entitled “Deception at Duke” and the program evoked many painful emotions about this unfortunate situation, and specifically led me to think about Dr. Joseph Nevins (Joe). I cannot and will not comment on the issues precipitated by the almost certainly fraudulent behavior of Dr. Anil Potti. Rather, I write to remind the Duke community what Joe has done for us.

First and foremost, Joe and his colleagues made seminal discoveries regarding how our genes are expressed. Work on E2F transcription factors revealed beautiful details of this regulation and uncovered pathways that are disrupted in cancers. Much of this work was nothing less than spectacular. Additionally, while carrying out this important work, countless scientists were trained and mentored. These contributions to science and Duke should not be forgotten.

Second, Joe has always been ready to help Duke in terms of leadership and service. When a long-standing training program in genetics was foundering, Joe helped revive it, when the institution needed a department of genetics Joe was tapped to lead it, and he further served Duke by helping marry it to the department of microbiology. As founding chair of the new Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Joe was instrumental in developing one of the strongest basic science departments in the institution. His service extended to teaching and mentoring of students, postdoctoral fellows and many of us who were privileged to have him as chair. The institution and its citizens should not overlook this.

Finally, Joe was a caring colleague and loyal friend to many of us in the faculty at Duke. I urge the Duke community to consider that together with a full, open and self-critical investigation of issues discussed in “60 Minutes,” we must also remember and recognize the outstanding contributions of Dr. Joseph Nevins.

Best wishes,

Dr. Mariano A. Garcia-Blanco

Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, and Medicine