Columbia University has distanced itself from an associate professor, Michael Clatts, after the AIDS researcher was questioned by the NYPD and the FBI about what the New York Post calls “a bomb factory” his roommate allegedly assembled in their apartment. The university says Clatts neither teaches nor receives pay at its Mailman School of Public Health.
Clatt, a medical anthropologist employed by the National Development and Research Institutes, is studying social aspects behind the spread of AIDS. He has been researching HIV risk among young drug injectors in Vietnam, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s website. His recent research also includes a study into wild gay sex parties, according to coolnurse.com.
Clatts, according to the New York Sun, has refused to cooperate with police, who say they do not suspect Clatts with being involved in the arsenal of bombs and guns.