IU locked down the laboratory of Distinguished Professor of Biology Roger Innes on Thursday night, according to an email sent to the department by the chair.
The reason is unclear, Armin Moczek said in the email obtained by WFIU/WTIU News.
Another email to the biology department Friday afternoon from IU Vice President for Research Russ Mumper said IU was "notified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that they will be engaging in activity in a laboratory associated with the biology department."
He added that the university is cooperating with federal authorities and working to minimize inconvenience.
The lab, in Myers Hall, is where IU post-doctoral researcher Youhuang Xiang worked when accused of concealing a shipment of plasmid DNA from China as women's clothing. The USDA investigated the lab after the incident and certified that it was in compliance with regulations.
Xiang pleaded guilty — to expedite his deportation to China, his attorney said, instead of being in prison.
Moczek's email said the Innes lab — and three other labs used in part by people who work in the Innes lab — had the locks changed. They are accessible only to IUPD, the email said.
"We are working hard to regain partial access already this afternoon," Moczek wrote. "The overall lockout may take a week or multiple weeks, at this point nobody knows."
The email said Moczek stressed to an IU vice president and the general counsel that it's crucial to retain access to the labs at least twice daily.
That's to ensure "equipment failures, leaks, water baths accidentially left on and general lab safety issues are dealt with competently and in a timely manner before they grow into a catastrophe."
A faculty member said "...abandoning space like this is how labs burn down."
Xiang was conducting USDA-sponsored research on crop resistance to fungal diseases.
Innes was celebrated by the IU Bloomington chancellor last year for his election to the National Academy of Sciences.
His biography on IU's website says he "studies plant immune systems with the goal of finding more ecologically sound ways of protecting plants from pathogens and insects—research that could lead to an increase in yields of crops like soybeans while simultaneously reducing overall costs for farmers."
