A recent graduate student of the Biology department is currently being sought by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Aafia Siddiqui, who published her dissertation in 2001, is wanted for information regarding her association to a suspected member of Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda network. Siddiqui, a native of Pakistan, is believed to be a close acquaintance of Adnan El Shukrijumah, a Saudi national wanted in connection with possible terrorist threats against the United States, according to an FBI notice.

Information regarding Siddiqui is scarce, but it is confirmed that before studying at Brandeis, she received a B.S. in Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Although M.I.T. could not give further information about her time there, a representative from the M.I.T. News Office said Siddiqui graduated in 1995. She is entered in their alumni directory, but M.I.T. had no contact information.

Siddiqui's 2001 dissertation, entitled "Separating the Components of Imitation," confirms her studies at Brandeis. John R. Hose, executive assistant to the president and associate vice president for University affairs, gave the Justice the same comment he told NBC News. "The University is governed by federal regulations," he said. "I can neither confirm nor deny that she was ever a student at Brandeis."

In issuing this statement, Hose cited the 1993 Family Educational Right to Privacy Act (also known as the Buckley Amendment), a law that requires institutions of higher education to keep students' educational records confidential. In accordance, the Biology department declined to open any of Siddiqui's records. While writing her dissertation, Siddiqui studied under Professor Robert Sekuler, who has declined to comment.

According to the posted notice on the FBI's Web site, the 30-year-old Siddiqui is believed to be in her home country. The field office in Boston is handling her case, and Special Agent Kimberly McAllister said the bureau could not distribute further information. An employee in the press room at FBI headquarters in Washington responded similarly. However, the NBC affiliate in Washington reported on its Web site last week that Siddiqui traveled through Maryland as recently as January.