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Academic bullying slows the evolution of science

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Academia can offer a wonderful career path, but the power differentials at play in university life can turn promising careers into nightmares. Academic bullying is an age-old serious issue that affects people in a variety of positions across all branches of science. This Comment discusses how bullying slows the progress of science.

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Fig. 1: Major root causes and side effects of academic bullying and critical actions against bullying.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology and Precision Health Program, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

    Morteza Mahmoudi

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  1. Morteza Mahmoudi
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Correspondence to Morteza Mahmoudi.

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Competing interests

M.M. discloses that he is a co-founder and director of the Academic Parity Movement (www.paritymovement.org), a non-profit organization dedicated to addressing academic discrimination, violence and incivility; he also has a conflict of interest with PGWC (Partners in Global Wound Care), NanoServ and Targets’ Tip; and he receives royalties and/or honoraria for his published books, plenary lectures and licensed patent.

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Identification with the agressor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identification_with_the_Aggressor

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Mahmoudi, M. Academic bullying slows the evolution of science. Nat Rev Mater 8, 301–303 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-023-00549-x

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