A former gene-therapy researcher at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine filed suit yesterday over claims that he was unfairly canned for using phony data when it was actually a lab assistant who did it.

Hemophilia expert Dr. Hengjun Chao alleges the prestigious Upper East Side grad school took his subordinate’s word over his because Chao was born and educated in China.

His suit seeks $171,500 in lost wages, along with unspecified damages for defamation and “trade libel.”