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SOUTHEAST TEXAS RECORD

Friday, March 29, 2024

Immunology professor's suit claims sex, age discrimination against Dallas medical institution

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A professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center claims in a lawsuit filed late last month that the Dallas medical education and biomedical research institution subjected her to age and sex discrimination.

Ellen S. Vitetta’s suit accuses UTSW of commit acts the professor of immunology, who court papers state is 74 years old, explains put her research in danger, asserting the plaintiff was the subject of “a continuing pattern of discrimination” dating back to 2012.

The complaint shows that Vitetta reportedly lost several of her key tabs in addition to her laboratory space to another doctor. Her salary was reduced by $50,000 on grounds that she had no funding, and her staff was terminated while she waited for news on a new grant, the original petition says.

According to the suit: “Dr. Vitetta was then forced to put her research on hold, because she had no trained staff, and it became uncertain how she would preserve her lab until she heard about her new grant.”

Vitetta further asserts that despite securing her new grant and protecting her continued funding, UTSW put her research in jeopardy by refusing to provide her with proper lab space.

“Instead, UTSW has instead spread her work out over seven different “spaces,” some of which are not even in the same building,” the suit says.

Vitetta believes the respondent is “willing to go to try and force her to retire.”

Consequently, she seeks unspecified monetary damages.

Attorney Walter L. Taylor of the Taylor Law Firm in Fort Worth is representing the plaintiff.

Dallas County 101st District Court Case No. DC-16-09146

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