HebeCell is a Chinese owned company that relies heavily on overseas investment and funding to maintain their R&D programs. As they are trying to establish their presence in the competitive stem cell landscape in the United States, cultural differences in the workplace often led to numerous glaring issues for employees.
When problems or issues arise concerning experiments, instead of trying to help young scientists learn and figure out what went wrong, management immediately sets blame and accuses them of not doing what they were told. HebeCell management can be very aggressive in the blame game, sometimes making these accusatory statements in a public setting in front of other employees, further humiliating and shaming the employee. Any effort by the employee/scientist to rebuff these claims are immediately snubbed and disregarded. Additionally, the company environment is not one that fosters critical and independent thinking. If the scientist does not take the initiative, management will shoot down any ideas that do not meet their narrow mindset. Furthermore, if the scientist/employee disagrees with any of management’s plans, it is viewed as an affront to their absolute authority.
Employee safety is not a high priority at HebeCell. The use of virally-derived constructs (lentiviruses and retroviruses) are routinely used in the lab to generate cell lines of interest. Since HebeCell is only a BSL1 functioning lab and the use of viral vectors requires BSL2 certification, the company was knowingly and illegally conducting these experiments. When employees addressed their concerns about possible exposure or misuse from viral-containing materials in the lab, management lied and told all staff that the company was permitted to work with viruses and a BSL2 accreditation was not needed.
More egregiously, management has been known to openly make sexist comments as well as discriminatory statements against black/brown people of color and the LGBTQ+ community. This was incredibly surprising since these polarizing racial comments by management were routinely made during lunch in front of other employees. Since there is no formal Human Resources Department, filing a complaint is futile. These racial biases are unfortunately carried over during the hiring process where black and brown candidates are judged to a much higher standard against White and Asian applicants. Management would complain about small details in the Candidate’s resume or interview to ultimately disqualify these black and brown minorities from consideration. This lack of diversity and inclusion is exemplified by the overwhelming absence of black and brown employees at all staff levels within the company.
Please do your due diligence before applying or joining HebeCell. If you truly care about your professional and career growth, I would avoid this company at all costs. In addition to the fact that HebeCell pays its Scientists way below market value compared to other Biotech’s in the Natick/Boston area, there are much better opportunities to be found elsewhere.
