After paying a heavy price for his moral commitment, Jonathan Fishbein ’83 has finally found justice.
A safety expert, he was hired by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2003 to improve the safety of its AIDS research.
“I was drawn to the NIH by a desire to make a positive contribution to defeating the AIDS epidemic,” says the biology graduate.
After alleging major safety violations in federal AIDS research and filing complaints about misconduct and sexual harassment among management in the NIH, Fishbein was fired – despite the fact that his job performance had been documented as outstanding.
“I took a very important stand against corruption in government and scientific research that has betrayed the expectations of the American public,” he says. “This has come at a great sacrifice to my career. Nonetheless, I felt an obligation as a public servant to be a whistleblower. I have no regrets.”
In December, Fishbein was reinstated after investigations substantiated many of his claims and records showed that NIH’s actions appeared to be a reprisal for his speaking out rather than being based on his job performance, as had been claimed.
After Lafayette, Fishbein continued on to Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and then to internships, residency, and postdoctoral work. His concentration was on research throughout this time. It is a focus founded at Lafayette.
“Professors[Bernard] Fried, [Robert] Chase and [Louis] Stableford in the biology department were instrumental in my appreciation for the rigorous nature of scientific research in the life sciences,” he says. “My pursuit of medicine and clinical research were by-products of that influence.”
“I learned good study habits at Lafayette that prepared me for the enormous work and long hours that medical school and residency entail,” he adds. “I learned organization, how to multi-task, and how to make quality deliverables within short deadlines. I had my first experience at leadership in running the college radio station, WJRH, for three years. Lafayette made me realize my potential.”
Outside work, Fishbein says, he gains “great pleasure [from] raising my five-year-old and exposing him to all sorts of new adventures.”
Public service remains important to him.
“I want to make a difference by bettering the lives of people who have not been as fortunate as I have been,” he says.