Family of China-born neuroscientist Jane Wu files death-related civil complaint

The family of late neurology professor Jane Wu has filed a civil complaint against a US university, saying the university’s actions became “a decisive factor in her decision to end her life”.

In a civil complaint filed last week in Cook County Circuit Court, Wu’s family – acting through her legal estate – accused Northwestern University of discrimination and isolation.

Wu took her own life in July 2024 after years of China-related investigations in the US.

According to the filing, the university partially shut down Wu’s laboratory, dismantled her research team and reassigned her grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to white male colleagues.

These actions were taken while Wu, a chair professor at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine, was under administrative investigation by the NIH between 2019 and 2023, it said.

The investigation concluded with no findings of misconduct, but Northwestern did not restore Wu’s lab or funding. Instead, it cut her salary, imposed new restrictions, and refused to return a still-active NIH grant – steps her family said effectively blocked Wu from rebuilding her career.

South China Morning Post