Dr He Jiankui, a Chinese biophysicist, has refused to speak about his work creating the world's first genome-edited babies.
At the Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing in 2018, it transpired that Dr He had edited the genomes of embryos before they were transferred to patients' wombs during fertility treatment. Using the CRISPR/Cas9 approach, which allows scientists to change specific DNA sequences within a genome, Dr He turned their CCR5 gene into a mutant form in an attempt to make the children immune to HIV. His announcement sent shockwaves through the scientific community, and he was later found guilty of 'illegal medical practices' and sentenced to three years in prison (see BioNews 1029).
Dr He recently spoke at a bioethics event held at the University of Kent. However, he tweeted before the event 'I feel that I am not ready to talk about my experience in past three years'.
During his 25-minute talk, Dr He was reluctant to speak about the controversy he had caused, refused to answer questions from the audience, and indicated that questions should be directed to him via email. He acknowledged briefly at the end of the talk that 'scientific research must be subject to constraints of ethics and morality'.
Professor Robin Lovell-Badge of the Francis Crick Institute in London, and Progress Educational Trust chair of trustees, attended the event. He commented: 'This meeting has been very disappointing, notably the failure of He Jiankui to answer any questions.'
In an interview with the Guardian, Dr He commented on his previous work: 'I've been thinking about what I've done in the past for a long time. To summarise it up in one sentence: I did it too quickly... Lulu and Nana [the genome-edited twins] are living a normal, peaceful, undisturbed life and we should respect them. We respect patient privacy and, for me, I put the happiness of the family first and the science discovery second.'
Since his release from prison, Dr He has been looking to relaunch his career and has set up a laboratory in Beijing, China, working on the development of affordable gene therapies for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. However, several academics have been quoted by Nature arguing that Dr He should answer questions about his past research, before publicising new projects.
Dr He has also cancelled appearances in March, at the University of Oxford and at the Third International Summit on Human Genome Editing. The Summit will be held at the Francis Crick Institute in London, and will see speakers from around the world discuss the science and ethics of genome editing.
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