Erika Cheung, a former junior scientist at Theranos, became a whistle-blower after discovering scientific fraud within the company. Theranos, founded by Elizabeth Holmes, promised revolutionary diagnostic technology based on minimal blood samples. However, as Cheung later uncovered, the company operated without proper regulatory oversight, leading to serious implications for patient safety. Cheung's decision to speak out exemplifies the struggle against toxic workplace cultures and the personal risks involved in standing up for ethical practices in science and healthcare.
Most people who have endured and survived a toxic workplace don't end up as a character in an award-winning TV show. But Erika Cheung is not like most people, in more ways than one.
Cheung’s journey from researcher to whistle-blower began when she was a junior scientist, not long after she graduated in 2013 from the University of California, Berkeley.
Theranos claimed that cancers, diabetes, anaemia, herpes, HIV/AIDS and many other ailments could all be diagnosed by the company's 'Edison device', using just a few drops of blood from a finger-prick test.
At its zenith in 2015, Theranos was running close to 900,000 tests per year. It did so without the vigorous oversight of the US Food and Drug Administration.
Collection
[
|
...
]