Posted by Chinenye on Wed 14th Oct, 2026 - tori.ng
A university research lab has been thrown into turmoil after a student was accused of doing something shocking to a colleague.
(Aili Wang. photo Credit: The Independent)
Aili Wang, 32, a microbiology graduate student, has been arrested over allegations she poisoned a colleague's tea.
Police say she was detained on October 6 at Los Angeles International Airport while allegedly trying to fly back to China.
The victim, identified in court papers as K.T., began feeling unwell in August.
He had numbness in his fingers and legs, trouble focusing and tiredness.
He also noticed an odd taste in the tea he made in a small coffee maker on his desk.
His wife and others boiled water from the machine and found 63 milligrams of white powder that tested positive for acrylamide, a toxic chemical.
The sample was given to University of Wyoming campus police.
Officers set up cameras in the shared office.
Police say the footage shows Wang going through his desk on September 27 and photographing pages of his notebook on October 1.
On that day she also allegedly rinsed his mug with liquid from her own.
Police say she told them on October 5 that she had not used acrylamide in years.
Her lawyers and police say she had bought acrylamide on eBay twice last summer and then asked eBay to delete her account.
Police say the victim's research on a promising cancer therapy was similar to work Wang had done in China.
Wang had failed her first attempt to defend her dissertation, and the victim's professor, Mark Gomelsky, said she was envious of his success.
Gomelsky called it one of the worst shocks of his career.
Wang has no lawyer listed in court records, and the Associated Press could not reach her.
Wang faces a felony aggravated assault and battery charge in Wyoming, which carries up to 10 years in prison.
A judge raised her bond to $1.5 million in cash.
She is being held without bail in Los Angeles, and it is not yet clear when she will be sent back to Wyoming.
The victim is still having symptoms.
Gomelsky said acrylamide damages nerve cells and cannot be reversed, so it is unclear whether he will fully recover.