A post-doctoral researcher at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center is accused of stealing research funded by the U.S. government and attempting to take it back to his native China.
Charging documents state Dr. Yunhai Li joined MD Anderson through a U.S. Department of State research exchange scholar visa in 2022. His employment made him an employee of the State of Texas.
Charging documents contain what investigators say is a sworn legal statement written by Li. In the statement, Li wrote that he was working at MD Anderson on a vaccine to prevent breast cancer from metastasizing.
When the project was approximately 70% finished, Li said he had taken up to 90 GB of research. When confronted by hospital officials, Li said he worked to convince them that he had permanently deleted the material while concealing it through a China-based cloud company.
Multiple U.S. entities, including the Department of Defense and the National Institute of Health, have federally funded Li’s research. As a condition of such work, documents show Li signed several forms acknowledging it was confidential, with strict rules around storage and sharing.
The forms also stated Li did not have relationships with foreign institutions overlapping his MD Anderson responsibilities and was not receiving outside financial compensation.
However, Li wrote that he retained his employment at a Chinese state-affiliated hospital while working at MD Anderson.
“When I accepted a post-doctoral position at MDACC in 2022, I retained my employment position at the First Affiliated Hospital. The First Affiliated Hospital continued to pay me a reduced salary through 2023 and has held my employment position there pending my return from the United States,” he wrote.
Charging documents state Li published research for the Chinese hospital while working at MD Anderson and received grant funding from the Chinese government.
On July 1, Li resigned from his position at MD Anderson. Days later, federal authorities stopped him at Bush Airport, reportedly in possession of the material.
Charging documents state Li told investigators he planned to permanently return to the state-affiliated hospital and use the purportedly stolen material for continued research.
Despite acknowledging that MD Anderson would likely publish the work in the near future, Li reportedly told investigators he felt it was “going to waste”
He wrote that the work “is a product of my efforts over the last three years. I believe I have a right to possess and retain this data.”
Prior to his resignation, Li claimed his boss contacted the NIH and MDACC staff on his behalf, requesting that he be allowed to continue collaborating on the project after returning to China. He said to his knowledge, they had not received his response prior to his resignation. He cited concern that the request would be denied as part of his motivation to retain the data.
A spokesperson for MD Anderson wrote, “As of July 1, 2025, Yunhai Li is no longer employed by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Institutional leaders are working with relevant authorities on this matter.”
Most court documents list Li’s address as an ICE facility in Conroe. An ICE official told ABC13 that Li was released and transferred into Harris County custody in August after two state charges were filed against him for alleged theft of trade secrets and tampering with governmental documents.
Legal analyst Steve Shellist is not affiliated with Li’s case but has worked in federal court for decades. He told ABC13 he believes the state charges are merely “placeholders” as documents show that he is also under investigation for federal crimes.
“They wanted to arrest him and charge him before he fled the country,” Shellist said.
Harris County court documents labeled Li a flight risk. However, he posted his $5,100 bond and was released from custody. He is being subject to GPS monitoring.
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