NUS professor found guilty of sexual misconduct & dismissed, denies allegations

A professor at the National University of Singapore (NUS) has been dismissed from his post after being found guilty of sexual misconduct by a disciplinary panel.

The university terminated Shawn Chen Xiaoyuan on Dec. 24 following a six-month internal investigation into allegations of verbal and physical harassment since early 2025, reported South China Morning Post.

A spokesperson from NUS' Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine said he was found to have flouted NUS rules governing staff conduct, The Straits Times said.

The accusations were made by a research assistant and part-time PhD student.

Lodging an appeal

However, Chen denied the allegations, stating that he would be lodging an appeal.

"I am appealing the termination of my tenure,” Chen said on Dec. 25, as quoted by SCMP.

“I deny the complainant’s allegations and I am unable to comment further because I intend to pursue the appeals process and my legal remedies," he added.

A series of posts published on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu by netizens calling themselves the "Chen Xiaoyuan Team", appeared to defend him.

On Dec. 25, they made claims in an open letter that the alleged victim had been unprofessional in Chen's lab, including asking him to grant her co-authorship and promote her.

Chen claimed he had nothing to do with the posts.

Investigations

According to SCMP, allegations about Chen's behaviour had circulated on social media before the start of NUS' investigations.

He was then called into a series of hearings from Jun. 30 to Dec. 19 this year that ended with his termination.

Chen, who was part of both the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and the school of engineering, joined the university in 2020.

He has published more than 1,000 peer-reviewed papers.

He was also the Nasrat Muzayyin Chair Professor in Medicine and Technology, running a research lab in nuclear medicine and nanomedicine that the accuser joined in March 2024.

On Jun. 25, 2025, she alleged that she had been subject to repeated verbal and physical sexual harassment by Chen and transferred to another lab.

NUS responded with a statement: "The various instances of physical contact over several months were unsolicited and unwanted, causing you discomfort, offence and distress," according to SCMP.

Top images via Coins & Academia Europaea