NIH Halts Tuberculosis Research Over Unfounded 'Dangerous' Gain-of-Function Concerns
By
maxall4
7mo ago· 5 min readenOpinion
75/100
Toasty
Bagelometer↗
Warm and crisp on the edges. A bagel with a bit of bite.
Score75TypeopinionSentimentnegative
Summary
A UC Berkeley professor and NIH grant recipient describes how the NIH abruptly ordered them to stop their tuberculosis research, deeming it 'dangerous gain-of-function' work. The researcher argues this classification is unfounded and that their lab has operated safely for over a decade, emphasizing that such research is essential for developing new treatments for tuberculosis. The article presents a first-person perspective on the conflict between scientific research and regulatory oversight.
Key quotes
· 4 pulledOn July 11, I received a letter from the National Institutes of Health ordering me to stop my research on Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes tuberculosis, because the work was deemed too 'dangerous.'
Surely this must be a mistake, I thought, since my lab has been operating safely for more than a decade.
I am an associate professor of molecular and cell biology at University of California, Berkeley, where I study TB.
Safe gain-of-function research is necessary to identify new treatments for diseases like for tuberculosis — but the NIH has imposed unfounded stops.
Safe gain-of-function research is necessary to identify new treatments for diseases like for tuberculosis — but the NIH has imposed unfounded stops.
