The New York Times reports that the top administrator of one of Europe’s leading medical universities – the Karolinska Institute – resigned on Friday.

Anders Hamsten, who as vice chancellor led the Stockholm-based Karolinska Institute, said in a statement published by Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter, that he was stepping down because of growing criticism of his and the institute’s handling of the scandal swirling around Paolo Macchiarini, a surgeon who was hired as a visiting professor in 2010.

“I failed to see the warning signs. Confidence in me as Vice-Chancellor of KI has been impaired both among the public, the research community and KI’s staff and students. It will be difficult for me to continue to act as Vice-Chancellor of Sweden’s most successful university with credibility and effectiveness”, Anders Hamsten said.

“For that reason I am resigning my post” 

It becoming the latest casualty of a scandal involving a prominent surgeon in the field of regenerative medicine, the NYT said.

Paolo Macchiarini is a thoracic surgeon and a former professor of Regenerative Medicine at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, and is now being investigated for research fraud.