A 35-year-old Chinese medical researcher, Dr. Yunhai Li, was apprehended at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport on July 9, accused of stealing sensitive U.S.-funded breast cancer research and attempting to transfer it to China. The Harris County District Attorney’s Office revealed that U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in coordination with Homeland Security Investigations, discovered confidential data on Li’s laptop during a pre-flight inspection.

Li, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center since 2022, was part of a team developing a vaccine to prevent breast cancer metastasis, funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense. Court documents allege that Li, who entered the U.S. on a research scholar visa, uploaded approximately 90 gigabytes of unpublished research data to his personal Google Drive and a Chinese cloud service, Baidu, while concealing this from his employer. After resigning abruptly on July 1, 2025, Li allegedly attempted to leave the country with the data, prompting his detention.

Li faces charges of Theft of Trade Secrets, a third-degree felony carrying a penalty of two to ten years in prison and fines up to $10,000, and Tampering with a Government Record, a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $4,000 fine. Authorities also indicate that Li is under federal investigation for potential charges including wire fraud, theft of federal funds, and abuse of official capacity. He was released on a $5,000 bond but was ordered to surrender his passport to prevent him from fleeing.

Also Read: Tamil Nadu Governor Warns of 'Strategic' Infiltration Aiming for India's Partition

In a sworn statement, Li confessed to police that he took the research, claiming it was a product of his three-year effort and that he believed he had a right to it, fearing his work was "going to waste." He also admitted to misleading MD Anderson administrators by claiming he had deleted the data while hiding it on the Baidu server. Reports further allege that Li was secretly receiving funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China and conducting research for Chongqing Medical University, violating his non-disclosure agreement with MD Anderson.

“Houston is home to world-class medical institutions driving life-saving innovations,” said Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare. “We have zero tolerance for actions that jeopardize our nation’s ability to lead in critical medical advancements.” The case has raised alarms about the security of intellectual property in international research collaborations, with MD Anderson stating it is cooperating fully with authorities.

This incident is part of a broader pattern of concerns regarding the protection of U.S. research. In 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice charged individuals in similar cases involving Chinese nationals attempting to steal trade secrets, including a researcher who smuggled biological samples from a Boston hospital. The growing frequency of such cases underscores the delicate balance between fostering global scientific cooperation and safeguarding national interests.

Also Read: Defence Spending is Nation’s Insurance, Says Ex-Army Chief Naravane