Ohio State Researcher Sentenced to Prison for Secret China Ties

Rheumatologist Song Guo Zheng pleaded guilty in November to delivering US-funded research to China.

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After admitting to lying on US federal grant applications about connections to Chinese research institutions, 58-year-old rheumatologist Song Guo Zheng has been sentenced to 37 months in federal prison. The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) released a statement on Friday (May 14) detailing the nature of the sentencing, along with Zheng’s admission of participation in a Chinese program tied to the theft of intellectual property from the US and other countries. He also owes a combined $4 million in restitution to the National Institute of Health and the Ohio State University (OSU) for falsifying grant applications.

Zheng has had an illustrious career in the field of rheumatology and immunology and is an authority on the regulatory T-cells that inhibit immune responses. After obtaining his MD in China and PhD in France, Zheng came to the US to complete postdoctoral studies at the University of California, ...

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Meet the Author

  • Lisa Winter

    Lisa Winter became social media editor for The Scientist in 2017. In addition to her duties on social media platforms, she also pens obituaries for the website. She graduated from Arizona State University, where she studied genetics, cell, and developmental biology.
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