WASHINGTON (AP) — The University of Michigan is under federal scrutiny after two Chinese scientists linked to the school were separately charged with smuggling biological materials into the United States.

The investigation comes after authorities accused a Chinese scientist and his girlfriend working in the school's lab of smuggling a toxic fungus into the U.S.

“Past federal investigations have revealed a concerted strategy by the Chinese Communist Party to exploit the openness of American higher education and to recruit researchers to advance Beijing’s aims,” Lips, a former staffer on the U.S. Senate Homeland Security Committee also told The Fix.