LSU biomedical research center adds outspoken anti-vaccine advocate to faculty
LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center has appointed Dr. Robert Malone, a scientist and conspiracy theorist who gained fame by spreading vaccine misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic, as an adjunct professor. (Photo courtesy Ochsner Health)
LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center has appointed Dr. Robert Malone, a scientist and conspiracy theorist who gained fame by spreading vaccine misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic, as an adjunct professor.
Malone, a medical doctor, rose to prominence in 2021 for amplifying false information about the COVID-19 vaccines. His fabricated claims include linking the death of a high school athlete to the vaccine in 2021, although the teen had died in 2013. Malone also blamed the vaccine for “causing a form of AIDS,” the Associated Press reported.
Malone has also echoed the conspiracy theory that the COVID-19 pandemic was a plot by the Central Intelligence Agency.
Major health organizations, the vast majority of health professionals and government officials consider the COVID-19 vaccines to be both safe and effective.
Malone’s social media posts also promote a variety of other falsehoods, including that there is a connection between pedophilia and the “trans movement.” He has also shared an AI-generated video of Anthony Fauci, the face of the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, transforming into a humanoid reptile, a reference to conspiracy theory that shapeshifting reptilian aliens have infiltrated high-level government positions to influence human society.
“Gradually, gradually recovering from five years of being defamed, gaslit and blacklisted for speaking truth to power,” Malone wrote of his Pennington appointment in a social media post on X, the platform previously known as Twitter.
Pennington spokesman Ernie Ballard said Malone’s appointment is gratis, meaning he will not be paid. Pennington is an academic, health-focused research center known for its work in nutrition, though it also studies other health topics, including epidemiology.
“Over time, Pennington Biomedical has had adjunct appointments with hundreds of faculty from across the globe,” Ballard said. “These gratis (unpaid) appointments help facilitate research collaborations. Dr. Robert Malone’s adjunct appointment will focus on providing insights into the current federal landscape in Washington, D.C.”
Malone is closely affiliated with U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., another prominent vaccine skeptic and source of health misinformation. In June, Kennedy appointed him to the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices, an independent panel key to vaccine policy and access in America.
In 2021, Gov. Jeff Landry invited Kennedy and Malone to appear at a state legislative hearing on requiring the COVID-19 vaccine for K-12 school attendance, which Landry, then the attorney general, opposed.
Malone was banned from Twitter for spreading false information about the pandemic, though he was restored to the platform in 2022 when it was acquired by Elon Musk, who has also spread health misinformation.
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