Canadian police probe ‘possible policy breaches’ at lab after Chinese scientist removed
- University of Manitoba has cut ties with Qiu Xiangguo, a noted Ebola researcher, after she was escorted from National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg
- An investigation is under way at its virology facility after referral from Public Health Agency
The controversy over a Chinese researcher who was removed from her laboratory in Canada has deepened, with police launching an investigation into “possible policy breaches” at the facility.
Qiu Xiangguo, a medical doctor and virologist and one of the first scientists to develop a treatment for Ebola, was escorted from the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg early this month. On Monday, the University of Manitoba said it had severed ties with her until the investigation had concluded.
Chinese-educated microbiology researcher Qiu – along with her husband and fellow researcher, Cheng Keding, and an unknown number of Chinese research students – were removed on July 5 from Canada’s only level-4 virology facility at the National Microbiology Lab.
Qiu’s position as a non-salaried adjunct professor at the university “has ended and all students she supervised have been reassigned”, pending an investigation by police, spokesman John Danakas told Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on Monday.
Canada’s national police force meanwhile said it was investigating a referral from the country’s Public Health Agency over “possible policy breaches” at the virology facility, whose work includes research on the most dangerous human and animal pathogens, such as Ebola.
