A federal judge will decide Wednesday whether to sentence former ISU researcher Dong-Pyou Han to prison for research fraud.

Han worked in a research laboratory at Iowa State, where a team of scientists, including Han, tested an experimental AIDS vaccine on rabbits.

Han was forced to resign as a research assistant of biomedical sciences after he admitted to falsifying results from experiments in 2013. Han admitted to adding human antibodies to the blood from rabbits, making it appear that the vaccine was protecting the rabbits from HIV.

On Feb. 25, 2015, Han pleaded guilty to falsifying results. The multi-million dollar federal grant Iowa State had received for the research was taken away.

Han could be sentenced to up to six years in prison for his actions under federal guidelines. Prosecutors said they want Han to serve a sentence of imprisonment within the guidelines.

“Dr. Han’s conduct was egregious, long-running, and manipulated the grant funding process and Dr. Cho’s laboratory,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Scherle wrote in papers filed Monday. “The government therefore urges the Court to impose a sentence of imprisonment within the applicable guideline range.”

Han’s defense lawyer, Joseph Herrold, said the case is about human failings. Herrold asked that the court “imposes a sentence substantially below the advisory guideline range in this case, and strongly consider imposing a supervisory sentence of some fashion in this case.”

“[Han] is deeply ashamed of himself and of the shame he feels he has brought on his family,” Herrold wrote. “He regrets the hurt he has caused to his friends and colleagues, the damage he has caused to government funded scientific research, and the pain he has caused any members of the public who had high hopes based on his falsehood.”