"A leading European chemical safety institute has ousted the director of its cancer research center after the director led an extensive testing program into the safety of the pesticide glyphosate, sparking concerns about chemical industry influence into what has been an independent research institution.
Dr. Daniele Mandrioli joined the Ramazzini Institute in Bologna, Italy in 2012 and has directed the Institute’s Cesare Maltoni Cancer Research Center since 2020. The research facility conducts toxicology studies on a range of environmental substances to determine their carcinogenicity and other potential health implications.
The institute’s work has been used to inform regulatory decision-making and policy work on multiple chemicals, including vinyl chloride, benzene, and formaldehyde, and the group says it collaborates with the US National Toxicology Program as well as the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. It touts “50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENT RESEARCH” on its website and lists the World Health Organization as a partner.
But the dismissal of Mandrioli and the suspicion that it is tied to his work on glyphosate, has roiled scientific circles.
In a Jan. 21 letter to Ramazzini Institute President Loretta Masotti, Dr. Philip Landrigan, a US environmental epidemiologist and pediatrician who leads Boston College’s global public health program and who also is head of the International Scientific Advisory Committee of the Ramazzini Institute, described Mandrioli as a “superb scientist” and complained that the committee had not been consulted on the termination. The decision appeared to be due to industry pressure, the letter alleges."
Carey Gillam reports for The New Lede January 24, 2026.
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