Science 31 May 2013:
Vol. 340 no. 6136 pp. 1029-1031
DOI: 10.1126/science.340.6136.1029
•News & Analysis
China
Divided Loyalties Land Scientists in Hot Water
Christina Larson*,
Hao Xin
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Here today, gone tomorrow.
Photos of innovation team members were deleted from SIAT's website soon after the FBI brought charges against Zhu (top row, center).
CREDIT: COURTESY OF JIAN HAN
BEIJING—As the old saying goes, it's hard to serve two masters. Three Chinese researchers at New York University (NYU) were charged last week with taking bribes from a company and a government-funded lab in China. One of them was also accused of falsifying records in an application for a $3 million grant from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). A U.S. attorney labeled the defendants at NYU "foxes in the henhouse." But many in the Chinese scientific community think that the three scientists may instead be guilty of a lesser offense of foolishly trying to two-time their employer.
On 20 May, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan filed charges of "commercial bribery conspiracy" against Yudong Zhu, 44, an accomplished electrical engineer, and Xing Yang and Ye Li, both 31 and research engineers in Zhu's lab. The trio, who studied ways to enhance the imaging capabilities of MRI technology, are accused of obtaining "financial benefits" from a Chinese company in exchange for acquiring "certain research and non-public information at the US-based university that employed them," charged FBI Special Agent Michael J. Weniger in the unsealed complaint. NYU Langone Medical Center, where the three worked, issued a statement saying that it was "deeply disappointed" by the news but could not comment because the investigation is ongoing.
The case highlights the pitfalls of what Chinese call "attempting to straddle two boats." Thanks in large part to China's stepped-up recruitment efforts, it's increasingly common for scientists like Zhu to hold dual posts, says Cong Cao, an expert on Chinese science policy at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom. In such arrangements, he says, "sooner or later there are going to be conflicts."
Zhu was a rising star in 2008 when the NYU center recruited him from General Electric's Global Research Center in Niskayuna, New York, to work on parallel MRI technology, a way to increase the speed of image acquisition. A 2008 press release announcing his appointment boasted, "NYU Langone Medical Center continues to attract the best and brightest faculty from around the world." But around 2011, Zhu took up "undisclosed affiliations" in China, according to the FBI complaint. He allegedly did not inform the university that he was involved with the Chinese medical imaging company United Imaging Healthcare in Shanghai and the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT).
Zhu's troubles began in 2010, when he won a 5-year NIH grant to advance MRI capabilities by using higher magnetic field strengths. In the first 3 years, Zhu and his team received $2.1 million for the research, which the FBI alleges directly "impacted" the value of a U.S. patent that he holds on an MRI technology. The U.S. attorney charged Zhu with "falsification of records" over his failure to disclose his patent to NYU. The Chinese lab and company, meanwhile, were pursuing similar research with Chinese government funding.
In 2011 and 2012, Zhu arranged for Yang and Li to move from China to New York to assist with his research, according to the FBI complaint. Soon after, the complaint continues, an executive at United Imaging Healthcare affiliated with SIAT reimbursed Yang for roughly $20,000 in graduate school tuition payments and paid Li's rent. Yang also allegedly conveyed information about his and Zhu's research to United Imaging Healthcare. Li, meanwhile, worked simultaneously for SIAT and the Chinese company. Zhu, Li, and Yang all maintained e-mail accounts with the domain name "united-imaging.com" while at NYU, according to the complaint.
In late 2012 or early 2013, NYU began to investigate the research team. The evidence that the university turned over to the FBI this spring included video footage of Yang photographing lab equipment, the complaint states.
The NYU case is the latest in a string of charges brought against Chinese scientists working in the United States for funneling raw or nonpublic research and information to institutions in China. Allegations are often characterized as economic espionage. The phenomenon "is not unique to China, but I think the majority of cases have been from China," says Adam Segal, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City who studies intellectual property and innovation.
The spate of incidents may be partly blamed on Chinese government talent recruitment programs that tacitly allow—and sometimes even encourage—holding dual appointments in China and in the West. As a result, Chinese scientists may unwittingly violate U.S. institutions' conflict-of-interest rules, says Jian Han, a faculty investigator at HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology in Huntsville, Alabama. Some may think playing both sides "is a win-win situation—but it's not," he says. Another attraction to overseas Chinese researchers may be the ease of receiving government funding in China, Segal notes: "There are very clear avenues for funding and support back in China if a scientist is tempted to take intellectual property and strike out on their own." Professors at U.S. universities with China-based labs, grad students, and Chinese government grants are "not uncommon," says Denis Simon, a vice provost at Arizona State University and an expert on science and innovation in China: "It's very amorphous territory."
Indeed, those recruited by the Chinese government's Recruitment Program of Global Experts, commonly known as 1000 Talents (Science, 31 July 2009, p. 534), receive up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in startup funds and a $163,000 relocation subsidy. Following the central government's lead, provinces launched their own recruitment programs. Zhu was recruited by Guangdong , a province in southern China, to be a core member of an innovation team focused on advanced MRI technology, the complaint states. In 2011, the Guangdong government recruited 20 innovation teams and provided them with about $80 million total, according to Chinese news reports.
Meanwhile, Chinese scientists working overseas worry that the allegations against Zhu could cast them in a negative light. The case will be "followed carefully by Chinese scientists both in China and in the U.S.," Han says. Wei Jia, a researcher at the University of North Carolina, Green*****oro, fears that the Zhu case could harm perceptions among U.S. employers and federal funding agencies.
Two scientists in the case have been arrested. The third, Li, returned to China before charges were filed, according to the FBI press release. After news of the arrests broke, SIAT deleted photos of and information about Zhu and Li from its website and is reportedly considering legal action to shield its reputation. A United Imaging Healthcare official told The Wall Street Journal that it's "impossible that our company would get involved in this kind of thing."
At the very least, the case against the three scientists should alarm others attempting to straddle two boats. Ying Xu, a bioinformatics researcher at the University of Georgia in Athens, says, "I hope those with full positions in the U.S. and [who] consult in China can learn a lesson from this incident."
Vol. 340 no. 6136 pp. 1029-1031
DOI: 10.1126/science.340.6136.1029
•News & Analysis
China
Divided Loyalties Land Scientists in Hot Water
Christina Larson*,
Hao Xin
View larger version:In this window
In a new window
Download PowerPoint Slide for Teaching
Here today, gone tomorrow.
Photos of innovation team members were deleted from SIAT's website soon after the FBI brought charges against Zhu (top row, center).
CREDIT: COURTESY OF JIAN HAN
BEIJING—As the old saying goes, it's hard to serve two masters. Three Chinese researchers at New York University (NYU) were charged last week with taking bribes from a company and a government-funded lab in China. One of them was also accused of falsifying records in an application for a $3 million grant from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). A U.S. attorney labeled the defendants at NYU "foxes in the henhouse." But many in the Chinese scientific community think that the three scientists may instead be guilty of a lesser offense of foolishly trying to two-time their employer.
On 20 May, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan filed charges of "commercial bribery conspiracy" against Yudong Zhu, 44, an accomplished electrical engineer, and Xing Yang and Ye Li, both 31 and research engineers in Zhu's lab. The trio, who studied ways to enhance the imaging capabilities of MRI technology, are accused of obtaining "financial benefits" from a Chinese company in exchange for acquiring "certain research and non-public information at the US-based university that employed them," charged FBI Special Agent Michael J. Weniger in the unsealed complaint. NYU Langone Medical Center, where the three worked, issued a statement saying that it was "deeply disappointed" by the news but could not comment because the investigation is ongoing.
The case highlights the pitfalls of what Chinese call "attempting to straddle two boats." Thanks in large part to China's stepped-up recruitment efforts, it's increasingly common for scientists like Zhu to hold dual posts, says Cong Cao, an expert on Chinese science policy at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom. In such arrangements, he says, "sooner or later there are going to be conflicts."
Zhu was a rising star in 2008 when the NYU center recruited him from General Electric's Global Research Center in Niskayuna, New York, to work on parallel MRI technology, a way to increase the speed of image acquisition. A 2008 press release announcing his appointment boasted, "NYU Langone Medical Center continues to attract the best and brightest faculty from around the world." But around 2011, Zhu took up "undisclosed affiliations" in China, according to the FBI complaint. He allegedly did not inform the university that he was involved with the Chinese medical imaging company United Imaging Healthcare in Shanghai and the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT).
Zhu's troubles began in 2010, when he won a 5-year NIH grant to advance MRI capabilities by using higher magnetic field strengths. In the first 3 years, Zhu and his team received $2.1 million for the research, which the FBI alleges directly "impacted" the value of a U.S. patent that he holds on an MRI technology. The U.S. attorney charged Zhu with "falsification of records" over his failure to disclose his patent to NYU. The Chinese lab and company, meanwhile, were pursuing similar research with Chinese government funding.
In 2011 and 2012, Zhu arranged for Yang and Li to move from China to New York to assist with his research, according to the FBI complaint. Soon after, the complaint continues, an executive at United Imaging Healthcare affiliated with SIAT reimbursed Yang for roughly $20,000 in graduate school tuition payments and paid Li's rent. Yang also allegedly conveyed information about his and Zhu's research to United Imaging Healthcare. Li, meanwhile, worked simultaneously for SIAT and the Chinese company. Zhu, Li, and Yang all maintained e-mail accounts with the domain name "united-imaging.com" while at NYU, according to the complaint.
In late 2012 or early 2013, NYU began to investigate the research team. The evidence that the university turned over to the FBI this spring included video footage of Yang photographing lab equipment, the complaint states.
The NYU case is the latest in a string of charges brought against Chinese scientists working in the United States for funneling raw or nonpublic research and information to institutions in China. Allegations are often characterized as economic espionage. The phenomenon "is not unique to China, but I think the majority of cases have been from China," says Adam Segal, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City who studies intellectual property and innovation.
The spate of incidents may be partly blamed on Chinese government talent recruitment programs that tacitly allow—and sometimes even encourage—holding dual appointments in China and in the West. As a result, Chinese scientists may unwittingly violate U.S. institutions' conflict-of-interest rules, says Jian Han, a faculty investigator at HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology in Huntsville, Alabama. Some may think playing both sides "is a win-win situation—but it's not," he says. Another attraction to overseas Chinese researchers may be the ease of receiving government funding in China, Segal notes: "There are very clear avenues for funding and support back in China if a scientist is tempted to take intellectual property and strike out on their own." Professors at U.S. universities with China-based labs, grad students, and Chinese government grants are "not uncommon," says Denis Simon, a vice provost at Arizona State University and an expert on science and innovation in China: "It's very amorphous territory."
Indeed, those recruited by the Chinese government's Recruitment Program of Global Experts, commonly known as 1000 Talents (Science, 31 July 2009, p. 534), receive up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in startup funds and a $163,000 relocation subsidy. Following the central government's lead, provinces launched their own recruitment programs. Zhu was recruited by Guangdong , a province in southern China, to be a core member of an innovation team focused on advanced MRI technology, the complaint states. In 2011, the Guangdong government recruited 20 innovation teams and provided them with about $80 million total, according to Chinese news reports.
Meanwhile, Chinese scientists working overseas worry that the allegations against Zhu could cast them in a negative light. The case will be "followed carefully by Chinese scientists both in China and in the U.S.," Han says. Wei Jia, a researcher at the University of North Carolina, Green*****oro, fears that the Zhu case could harm perceptions among U.S. employers and federal funding agencies.
Two scientists in the case have been arrested. The third, Li, returned to China before charges were filed, according to the FBI press release. After news of the arrests broke, SIAT deleted photos of and information about Zhu and Li from its website and is reportedly considering legal action to shield its reputation. A United Imaging Healthcare official told The Wall Street Journal that it's "impossible that our company would get involved in this kind of thing."
At the very least, the case against the three scientists should alarm others attempting to straddle two boats. Ying Xu, a bioinformatics researcher at the University of Georgia in Athens, says, "I hope those with full positions in the U.S. and [who] consult in China can learn a lesson from this incident."
