Ex-Ohio State prof pleads guilty to sharing work with China

A medical researcher and professor who h been working most recently at Ohio State University pleed guilty Thursday to a charge stemming from what prosecutors called a sophisticated scheme to transfer U.S.-backed research to China.Song Guo Zheng, 58, of suburban Hilliard, and his research groups secured more than $4.3 million in grants from National Institutes of Health for projects while receiving overlapping funding from National Natural Science Foundation of China, according to a criminal complaint unsealed this year.

Zheng worked in division of rheumatology and immulogy at OSU’s Wexner Medical Center. He pleed guilty to one count of making false statements to federal investigators. Zheng mitted he lied on applications in order to use NIH grants to develop China’s expertise in areas of rheumatology and immulogy, government said.Federal nts arrested Zheng in Alaska in May as, y said, he was attempting to board a private flight heed to China. Zheng faces as many as five years in prison. A mess was left with his attorneys seeking comment.

Before moving to Ohio, Zheng worked at University of Sourn California and Penn State University, according to government.Ohio State fired Zheng after he “failed to disclose his extensive paid work at a foreign institution,” said university spokesman Ben Johnson.

(Im Credit: Twitter/@drhpaz) 

This story has t been edited by www.republicworld.com and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.