The director of the Pancreatic Cancer Center of Excellence – a joint initiative of the University of Nebraska Medical Center and Nebraska Medicine – alleged in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he faced discrimination and retaliation from leadership before he was terminated from his clinical role.
Leadership with UNMC and Nebraska Medicine began recruiting Dr. Sunil Hingorani to lead the newly established center in 2020, according to the lawsuit, and he began his role as the director in May 2022. Prior to joining the center, Hingorani was a professor and researcher at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. In announcing the hire, UNMC leadership said Hingorani was an internationally recognized expert in pancreatic cancer.
Hingorani alleged throughout the lawsuit that administration within UNMC and Nebraska Medicine put up “roadblocks” to his attempts at improving processes and procedures, like updating IT infrastructure and purchasing new equipment. He also alleges that he was retaliated against for raising concerns about funding issues…