<p>COLUMBUS, Ohio — A former researcher at an Ohio children’s hospital has been sentenced to 33 months in prison for conspiring to steal trade secrets and sell them in China. </p>
<p>Federal authorities say Yu Zhou, 51, and his wife Li Chen, 48, who formerly lived in the Columbus suburb of Dublin, further agreed to pay $2.6 million in restitution and forfeit additional assets as a result of their convictions. </p>
<p>The pair conducted research in separate laboratories at Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s Research Institute in Columbus, each for ten years. </p>
<p>Both have admitted to conspiring to steal exosome-related trade secrets and illegally transferring the information to China. Exosomes play a role in the research, identification and treatment of a range of medical conditions, including liver fibrosis, liver cancer and a condition found in premature babies known as necrotizing enterocolitis.</p>
<p>Chen received a 30-month prison sentence in February.</p>
