A former MD Anderson Cancer Center researcher who prosecutors say tried to sneak U.S.-funded cancer research back to China has been sentenced to 364 days in the Harris County jail after pleading guilty to attempted theft of trade secrets. The court credited Yunhai Li with 196 days already served, and records indicate he is expected to be deported after his release. The sentence caps a case that started when border agents reportedly found MD Anderson files on his electronic devices at George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
According to the Houston Chronicle, Li pleaded guilty on March 6 to a state-jail felony and took a deal that reduced the original charge. Court records reviewed by the paper show a separate tampering-with-a-government-record count was dropped after he entered the plea.
Airport Stop Sparked The Probe
Prosecutors say U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security agents stopped Li at George Bush Intercontinental Airport on July 9, 2025 and found two phones and a laptop loaded with MD Anderson material. As reported by Click2Houston, Li was allowed to leave the airport after the initial inspection but was arrested weeks later on August 22 as investigators dug further into what was on his devices.
What Investigators Say Was Taken
Documents obtained by the Houston Chronicle state that Li downloaded about 90 gigabytes of unpublished research to personal devices, uploaded some of that material to Baidu's cloud service and used software to try to cover his tracks. The complaint further alleges he failed to disclose ties to Chongqing Medical University and funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China while working on National Institutes of Health and Department of Defense funded projects at MD Anderson. Hospital officials confronted him in June 2025 over the downloads, and he resigned during an internal investigation.
Legal Stakes Around Trade Secrets
The felony theft-of-trade-secrets charge originally brought against Li carries significant potential penalties under Texas law, and prosecutors said the matter was pursued in coordination with both state and federal authorities. Click2Houston reported that the Texas Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security Investigations were involved, and that the Harris County District Attorney's Office framed the case as part of a broader effort to safeguard publicly funded scientific work.
Why Houston's Research Community Is Watching
MD Anderson confirmed that Li is no longer employed there and said its leadership is cooperating with the appropriate authorities, according to coverage in the healthcare trade press. Becker's Oncology noted that the case has become a touchpoint in ongoing concerns about undisclosed foreign funding and affiliations inside U.S. research labs, including marquee institutions like Houston's world-renowned cancer center.
