The Trump administration on July 28 issued a government-wide policy ending dangerous high-risk life sciences research, including gain-of-function experiments, in the most sweeping biosecurity regulatory action in decades.
The policy, jointly announced by the Department of Health and Human Services and partner agencies, applies across all federal departments and agencies that fund or conduct life sciences research. It directly targets the type of experiments critics have linked to pandemic risk, including research that enhances the transmissibility or virulence of pathogens.
Gain-of-function research became a flashpoint in American public debate after the COVID-19 pandemic, with lawmakers and scientists questioning whether federally funded experiments at the Wuhan Institute of Virology may have contributed to the outbreak. The new policy addresses those concerns by imposing blanket restrictions rather than relying on case-by-case review.
The action affects research at universities, medical centers, and national laboratories across the country that receive federal funding. Institutions conducting affected research will be required to halt or modify ongoing experiments to comply with the new framework.
Supporters of the policy said it closes loopholes that allowed potentially dangerous experiments to proceed with insufficient oversight. Critics in the scientific community have argued that some restricted research is essential for pandemic preparedness and that overly broad bans could hamper the nation’s ability to anticipate and counter emerging infectious diseases.
The policy implements a campaign promise by Trump to overhaul biosecurity regulations and ensure that taxpayer-funded research does not create the conditions for future pandemics.
HHS said implementation guidance for affected institutions will follow in the coming weeks.