On her website, whitepersians.org—which is no longer accessible on the Internet—Erickson uses her experience at Harvard to present herself as an expert in behavioral genetics, claiming to have “progressed the research into the genetics of behavior under Dr.s [sic] Jerome Kagan and Evan Balaban of Harvard University,” among others.

But Kagan, who is the Starch research professor of psychology at Harvard, and Balaban, a former Harvard faculty member, said they remembered Erickson but were surprised to hear that she had listed them as references.

“I had no idea my name was being used. That’s really weird,” said Balaban, now at the City University of New York College of Staten Island. “She never did any research with me, so I don’t know on what basis she said that.”

Balaban said his connection to Erickson was that she had been an aide to one of his students, Christina V. Oleson ’92. Oleson wrote in an e-mail that Erickson was “very reliable,” but that she had not spoken to her in many years.

Kagan also denied that Erickson “progressed the research into the genetics of behavior” under his guidance.

“She did work for us for a few weeks many, many years ago, as a research assistant,” Kagan said. “And then I never saw her again.”

Balaban said Erickson listed him as a reference once before, shortly after she left Harvard.

“She I think had some kind of altercation with a landlord...and for some reason gave my name as a person for them to contact,” Balaban said. “They did, and I basically said I didn’t really know her.”

Many at Harvard also said that Erickson has a record of frequently suing her employers.

Erickson has filed a “voluminous” number of lawsuits against the University in both state and federal court, according to Mary Ann Mendes, spokesperson for the Harvard’s Office of the General Counsel. She said they were all “resolved favorably for the University.”

Kaufman speculated that Erickson’s suits have cost the University hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees. Mendes said she could not estimate the figure.

Kaufman said Erickson filed a complaint against him with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD). The complaint was eventually dismissed.

Kagan said he had a similar experience with Erickson after dismissing her only weeks after hiring her as a research assistant. He said he recalled that Erickson filed a discrimination suit which was dismissed.

According to the Boston Herald, Erickson has filed suit with the MCAD 21 times since 1996, losing the 14 cases that have been heard.

—Staff writer David B. Rochelson can be reached at rochels@fas.harvard.edu.