The Grim(m) Story: Far from a Fairy Tale

Stefan Grimm (Grimm), a 51-year-old professor of toxicology in the Department of Medicine, Imperial College London (ICL), was found dead in his home in Northwood, Middlesex (London), on 25 September, 2014. An inquest into his death found that Grimm had committed suicide as he was struggling to fulfil the metrics of his professorial post at ICL in the months leading up to his death. Grimm, a successful researcher who had done pioneering work in the field of cancer, was allegedly under intense pressure from his superiors to perform after he failed to secure higher research grants. He was placed on informal performance review and was reportedly warned that his job would be at risk unless he met his performance targets. In an email that surfaced a few weeks after his death, Grimm wrote, “Why does a Professor have to be treated like that? The reality is that these career scientists up in the hierarchy of this organization only look at figures to judge their colleagues, be it impact factors or grant income.[…]. One of my colleagues here at the College whom I told my story looked at me, there was a silence, and then said: “Yes, they treat us like sh*t”.