Terminated Emory researcher disputes universityโs allegations about China ties โ Science
What happened: Neuroscientist Li Xiao-Jiang, who was terminated by Emory University along with fellow researcher and wife Li Shihua, says that the school fired them โsimultaneously without any notice or opportunity for us to respond to unverified accusationsโ while they were traveling in China on May 16. Both scientists are American citizens, and said that Emory has also told four Chinese postdoctoral students who were working in their now-shuttered lab to leave the country within 30 days. โI have disclosed my Chinese research activity to Emory University each year since 2012,โ Li Xiao-Jiang said.
Why itโs important: This is the second publicly known case of an institution firing National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded researchers over concerns about foreign involvement. Both sets of terminations have happened during a time of heightened concerns about racial profiling: In March, the couple along with other Emory researchers sent a letter to the universityโs president warning her that โdisturbing views and activitiesโ at other American universities โalso exist on the Emory campus, which negatively derides Emory faculty members and international visitors, especially those of Chinese origin.โ Similarly, following Houston-based MD Anderson Cancer Centerโs ousting five โAsianโ faculty members, one researcher commented that โan increasingly xenophobic and isolationistโ federal government might be behind the institutionโs actions.