A UCI professor was accused of sexual harassment. He is back in the lab

UC Irvine professor Bruce Blumberg sat down in a quiet cafe and began composing a message.

He had arrived in Spain a few days before an international conference together with a doctoral student whom he had invited to participate.

He texted the student to say he had found a place to eat without tourists.

Instead of joining him, the young woman rushed to her hotel to pack her things, “fleeing” from the man who she said bombarded her with sexual comments and innuendo for four days, according to a 129-page university investigation seen by The Times.

The student, whose identity is not mentioned in the report and whose name the Times did not use, told a UCI investigator after her abrupt return to Irvine in May 2022 that she was uncomfortable with the thought of being alone with Blumberg, so she brought someone else with her on the trip.

Documents presented by Blumberg's spokesman identified the student's travel companion as her sister.

The trip, the student said, was “an absolute nightmare”; she had braced herself for him to “make a move” at the conference. Blumberg called her “baby,” she told the UCI investigator, and refused to leave another cafe until she posted photos of them on Instagram. She said he pressured her to visit a sex shop, told her he had dated 200 women before he got married and constantly made sexual comments — including the lewd remark, “I could give you some meat,” as they discussed a charcuterie board, according to the university report.

The sister, who had never met Blumberg before the trip, told a UCI investigator that she was disgusted by the professor's comments. Her sister ended up “as pale as a ghost,” she said.

Shortly after Blumberg returned to campus from his trip to Spain, UC Irvine officials launched an investigation. He denied any wrongdoing and said he always conducted himself professionally and never made inappropriate comments.

The investigation was not the first to examine Blumberg's behavior toward students. Officials have met with him at least four times since 2010, according to the report, which was obtained by The Times.

The report mentions “several interventions,” including a meeting with his department head in 2010 on an unspecified topic., a “Policy Compliance Meeting” in 2013 after he was accused of having a consensual relationship with a student, a formal investigation in 2019 after a student accused him of sexual harassment, and another “Policy Compliance Meeting” in 2022 on the topic of “use of language.”

Blumberg questioned the integrity of the investigation into the trip to Spain, pointing out that joint interviews were conducted with the student and her sister, which he said violated university policy. He also disputed many of the student's claims, including that she was forced to sit next to him on the plane. The UCI report found that there were “inconsistencies” in the student's statements about her travel plans, but that overall the investigator found them credible.

Blumberg did not accept interview requests. Through a spokesman, he denied that he ever behaved inappropriately and said the university investigator relied on the testimony of some students who wanted revenge for poor performance in the lab.

“A small group of former laboratory employees, dissatisfied with their poor performance compared to other high performers, attempted to blame their failures on a supposedly toxic laboratory atmosphere, when in reality it was a demanding yet rewarding place to work,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

Hundreds of students have worked with Blumberg since he came to the university in 1998.

Some say he was a caring mentor who remembered birthdays and helped publish research papers.

“From my interactions with Dr. Blumberg, I can tell that he is also very supportive of female scientists and early career researchers,” said Sha Sun, associate professor of biology, who said Blumberg is her mentor.

Others said they saw a different side.

Denise Stephen said she noticed people leaving his lab early “and often in arguments” while she was a PhD student around 2008. She said she was shocked when she was contacted during the 2022 investigation.

“When will this end?” Stephen said, she remembered thinking.

UCI scientist Felix Grun began working as a postdoc in Blumberg's lab in 1999 and complained about the toxic work environment that was “emotionally draining,” calling it a “constant stream of verbal and emotional abuse.”

Grun had previously filed a complaint against Blumberg because he believed he had been wrongly denied credit for a scientific article. The university concluded that Blumberg had made no mistake in refusing to credit him.

According to UCI investigations and interviews with former students, Blumberg is said to have had a “romantic” relationship with a postdoctoral fellow about a decade ago.

University reports indicate that university officials met with Blumberg at least twice to discuss the allegations, which his spokesman called “unfounded talk.”

Years later, in 2019, Blumberg was investigated after he was accused of sexually harassing a female student, according to the investigation. According to the UCI investigation, investigators found that while Blumberg did not violate school policy, his interactions with students included sexual comments, discussions about their Instagram posts, the use of CBD oil and alcohol.

This behavior, they said, “could reasonably be viewed as unprofessional.”

Three years later, university officials became aware of Blumberg’s trip to Spain.

After interviewing more than 30 people, UCI investigators found in April 2023 that Blumberg violated university policies against sexual harassment during the trip and “created a hostile academic and professional environment” over the years.

Then-Vice Provost for Academic Personnel Diane O'Dowd placed Blumberg on involuntary, paid leave in July 2023 while UCI considered disciplinary action.

But Chancellor Howard Gillman overruled O'Dowd's decision and lifted the leave of absence in September of this year. The university said in a statement to the Times that the chancellor did not believe Blumberg's conduct placed people on campus at “immediate and serious risk” – the minimum level for a leave of absence. According to University of California rules, a faculty member can only be placed on involuntary leave if there is a “serious danger” to university members or if the conduct is being investigated by law enforcement.

In December, Blumberg and UCI reached an agreement. According to documents obtained by the university upon request, Blumberg accepted a three-month suspension without pay in exchange for the dismissal of all disciplinary proceedings against him.

Despite this agreement, Blumberg insists that he behaved appropriately in Spain.

“As several current and former lab members attest, Professor Blumberg has always been extremely supportive of his lab members and committed to promoting their professional success,” said his spokesperson, who included more than 30 letters of support for Blumberg from former students.

The university's agreement included a number of conditions that Blumberg had to fulfill when he returned to campus, including two hours of sexual harassment training and banning high school students from entering his lab.

Lab staff would have to get permission to attend conferences with him, and he would not be allowed to drink alcohol at lab events. He would not be allowed to follow his students on social media or talk to them about his personal life, nor would he be allowed to ask them about their lives.

Department head Kavita Arora also meets regularly with students to give them “a concrete space to express any concerns” about Blumberg, the UCI said in a statement.

Six years ago, another sexual harassment case at UCI's Charlie Dunlop School of Biological Sciences resulted in the resignation of a top professor. In 2018, famed geneticist Francisco J. Ayala resigned after a university investigation found he had sexually harassed four women. His name was also removed from the School of Biological Sciences, which was inaugurated in 2011 after Ayala donated $10 million.

The women – including faculty members and doctoral students – criticized UCI for its slow response to their complaints.

Biology professor Jessica Pratt was the first at UCI to officially report Ayala in 2015. She said it took three more women to publicly accuse him of inappropriate and sexist comments before UCI took disciplinary action against him.

Since Ayala's resignation, UCI has reinstated a sexual harassment prevention program and established a resource center to support faculty members who wish to complain about the behavior of colleagues.

“The university continues to monitor all sexual violence/harassment whistleblower or reporting portals, particularly anything related to Dr. Blumberg or his laboratory,” UCI officials said in a statement to The Times in June.

Some students and faculty say the changes are insufficient. Although the university pledged to review its sexual harassment policies after Ayala's resignation, it still often handles complaints by creating physical distance between those involved in the allegations – for example, by moving them to another office.

The process generally doesn't go far enough to solve the problem, Pratt said. “That's why these things persist much longer than we can imagine,” she said.

In March, Blumberg was back in office. In a statement through his spokesperson, Blumberg stressed that there had been no new allegations since then and that all laboratory employees had decided to work in the laboratory after being informed of the previous complaints.

This week he begins his 27th year with the UCI.