Thomas Jefferson University President Mark Tykocinski announced last week that he will be resigning from his position just over one year after his appointment. Tykocinski’s departure comes after a controversy during the spring when he liked Twitter posts critical of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and transgenderism.

In an email to the university, Jefferson CEO Joseph G. Cacchione explained that Tykocinski will be leaving to focus on his cancer immunotherapy research, according to Becker’s Hospital Review. “We appreciate Dr. Tykocinski’s years of transformational service to Jefferson and wish him an abundance of success in his scientific and other endeavors given their importance to humanity,” Cacchione wrote. He further stated that Tykocinski will continue as a professor, and the email made no mention of the former president’s Twitter controversies. However, Tykocinski’s social media activity may still have had a hand in his exit from the office, and university staff and students interviewed by the Philadelphia Inquirer expressed relief at seeing the change in leadership.

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In April, Tykocinski’s official Twitter account liked a tweet from writer and journalist Alex Berenson questioning the efficacy of COVID vaccines. “Two years after their introduction, the mRNAs Covid vaccines have proven to be what we all should have expected,” the tweet read.

At the same time, the account also liked a post from Donald Trump Jr. drawing attention to a fundraising effort for the anti-trans “Rally to End Child Mutilation” in Tennessee.

Tykocinski said at the time that he misunderstood the like feature on Twitter, intending to use it to bookmark the posts for further research rather than giving an endorsement. He later apologized and removed the likes, but not before Cacchione expressed “disappointment” at his actions.

As Tykocinski prepares to make his exit, board member Susan Aldridge has been appointed the interim president of Thomas Jefferson University, and Steven Herrine, current vice dean of undergraduate medical education, will serve as interim dean of Sidney Kimmel Medical College in Philadelphia.

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