Woman Who inspired First Greek Barbie Accused of Falsely Claiming She Worked as NASA Scientist
The Telegraph | 9/18/19

The woman who served as the inspiration for Greece’s first Barbie doll has been accused of falsely claiming she is a leading scientist who has won awards for her work for NASA.

Eleni Antoniadou, 31, has been described as a specialist in the fields of regenerative medicine, artificial organ bioengineering and space medicine, as well as training astronauts at NASA, and working as CEO of Transplants Without Donors, which creates artificial organs for transplants.

Cited as a “Greek scientist of global calibre” by national media, her accolades include being named in a Forbes magazine’s 30 Under 30 list for Healthcare, being voted 2013 Woman of the Year at the annual British FDM Everywoman in Technology Awards, winning the NASA-ESA Outstanding Researcher Award in 2012, and presiding over the European Health Parliament.

Two weeks ago, she was presented with an award for scientific excellence by Niki Kerameos, Greece’s education minister, who said: “Her passion for science inspires us and fills us with optimism.” However, Ms. Antoniadou’s career has this week come under heavy scrutiny, with members of the academic community claiming that many of her credentials are false, and that she has never held a position at NASA or won one of its awards.

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Mattel did not respond to requests for comment on the recent claims when approached by The Daily Telegraph. 

Greek Hoaxes, a team committed to debunking fake news, also dismissed her claim to have worked on a team that built the first trachea implant to be successfully used on a patient at University College London, saying the patient died afterwards. 

The NASA-ESA Outstanding Researcher Award does not appear to exist, and Ms. Antoniadou’s name is not included in NASA’s record of its award winners.