He Jiankui facts for kids

Quick facts for kids He Jiankui
贺建奎
He in 2018
Born	1984 (age 39–40) Xinhua County, Hunan, China
Alma mater	University of Science and Technology of China (BS) Rice University (PhD)
Known for	He Jiankui affair
Scientific career
Fields	Biophysics
Institutions	Southern University of Science and Technology
Thesis	Spontaneous Emergence of Hierarchy in Biological Systems (2011)
Doctoral advisor	Michael W. Deem
Other academic advisors	Stephen Quake
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	贺建奎
Traditional Chinese	賀建奎
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Hè Jiànkuí IPA [xɤ̂ tɕi̯ɛ̂nkʰu̯ěi̯]

He Jiankui ([xɤ̂ tɕi̯ɛ̂nkʰu̯ěi̯]; Chinese: 贺建奎; born 1984) is a Chinese biophysicist. He was named as the inaugural director of the Institute of Genetic Medicine at Wuchang Technical College, a private undergraduate college in Wuhan, in September 2023. Before January 2019, He served as associate professor at the Department of Biology of the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. Earning a PhD from Rice University in Texas on protein evolution, including that of CRISPR, He learned gene-editing techniques (CRISPR/Cas9) as a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University in California.

In November 2018, He announced that he had created the first human genetically edited babies, twin girls who were born in mid-October 2018 and known by their pseudonyms, Lulu and Nana. The announcement was initially praised in the press as a major scientific advancement. But following scrutiny on how the experiment was executed, He received widespread condemnation. His research activities were suspended by the Chinese authorities on 29 November 2018, and he was fired by SUSTech on 21 January 2019. On 30 December 2019, a Chinese court found He Jiankui guilty of illegal practice of medicine and sentenced him to three years in prison and a fine of 3 million yuan. He was released from prison in April 2022.

He was listed as one of Time's 100 most influential people of 2019, in the section "Pioneers". At the same time he was variously referred to as a "rogue scientist", "China's Dr. Frankenstein", and a "mad genius".

Early life and education

He was born in Xinhua County, Loudi City, Hunan, in 1984.

He Jiankui attended the University of Science and Technology of China for undergraduate studies from 2002 to 2006, and graduated with a major in modern physics in 2006. He entered Rice University in 2007 and received a Doctor of Philosophy degree in biophysics under the supervision of Michael W. Deem in 2010.

After receiving his doctorate, Michael Deem arranged for He to work on CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technique as a postdoc fellow with Stephen Quake at Stanford University.

Career

In 2011, He received the Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-financed Students Abroad while still in the United States. Responding to an ad, He returned to China in 2012 under the city of Shenzhen's Peacock Plan and opened a lab at the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech). As part of the program, he was given 1 million yuan (about US$145,000 in 2012) in angel funding, which he used to start biotech and investment companies. He founded Direct Genomics in 2012 in Shenzhen, to develop single-molecule sequencing devices based on patents invented by Quake that had formerly been licensed by Helicos Biosciences. Direct Genomics received 40 million yuan (about US$5,790,000 in 2012) in subsidies from Shenzhen, and raised hundreds of millions yuan more in private investment, but He sold his stake in 2019. He also founded Vienomics Biotech, which offers genome sequencing services for people with cancer. In 2017, He was included in the Chinese government's Thousand Talents Plan. He Jiankui's achievements were widely revered in Chinese media, including China Central Television and the People's Daily which covered his research and described him as "the founding father of third-generation genome editing" during a program celebrating the 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party.

In August 2018, He met with Chinese-American doctor John Zhang to discuss plans to launch a company focused on "genetic medical tourism." The business was to target elite customers, operating out of China or Thailand. The business plans were shelved with He's detainment in November 2018.

He took an unpaid leave from SUSTech starting in February 2018, and began conducting the genome-editing clinical experiment. On 26 November 2018, he announced the birth of gene-edited human babies, Lulu and Nana. Three days later, on 29 November 2018, Chinese authorities suspended all of his research activities, saying that his work was "extremely abominable in nature" and a violation of Chinese law. In December 2018, following public outcry regarding his work, He appeared to have gone missing. SUSTech denied the widespread rumors that he had been detained. On 30 December 2019, the Shenzhen Nanshan District People's Court sentenced He Jiankui to three years in prison and a fine of three million yuan (about US$434,000 in 2019). He Jiankui was released in April 2022 after serving the term.

Research

In 2010, at Rice University, He Jiankui and Michael W. Deem published a paper describing some details of the CRISPR protein; this paper was part of the early work on the CRISPR/Cas9 system, before it had been adopted as a gene editing tool.

In 2017, He gave a presentation at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory describing work he did at Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), in which he used CRISPR/Cas9 on mice, monkeys, and around 300 human embryos.

In January 2019, scientists in China reported the creation of five identical cloned gene-edited monkeys, using the same cloning technique that was used with Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua – the first ever cloned monkeys - and Dolly the sheep, and the same gene-editing CRISPR/Cas9 technique allegedly used by He in creating the first ever gene-modified human babies Lulu and Nana. The monkey clones were made in order to study several medical diseases.

Human gene-editing experiment

On 25 November 2018, He Jiankui first announced on YouTube that his team successfully created the world's first genome-edited babies, Lulu and Nana. Formally presenting the story at the Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) three days later, he said that the twins were born from genetically modified embryos that were made resistant to M-tropic strains of HIV. His team recruited 8 couples consisting each of HIV-positive father and HIV-negative mother through Beijing-based HIV volunteer group called Baihualin China League. During in vitro fertilization, the sperms were cleansed of HIV. Using CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing, they introduced a natural mutation CCR5-Δ32 in gene called CCR5, which would confer resistance to M-tropic HIV infection. The People's Daily announced the result as "a historical breakthrough in the application of gene editing technology for disease prevention".

The experiment had recruited couples who wanted to have children; in order to participate, the man had to be HIV-positive and the woman uninfected. At the time, it was not disclosed whether the clinical experiment had received appropriate ethical review from an institutional review board before it started, and it was unclear if the participants had given truly informed consent.

He Jiankui said that he edited the genomes of the embryos using CRISPR/Cas9, specifically targeting a gene, CCR5, that codes for a protein that HIV-1 uses to enter cells. He was trying to create a specific mutation in the gene, (CCR5 Δ32), that few people naturally have and that possibly confers innate resistance to HIV-1, as seen in the case of the Berlin Patient. He said that the girls still carried functional copies of CCR5 along with disabled CCR5 given mosaicism inherent in the present state of the art in germ-line editing. There are forms of HIV which use a different receptor instead of CCR5, and the work that He did could not protect resulting children from those forms of HIV.

He Jiankui said he used a preimplantation genetic diagnosis process on the embryos that were edited, where 3 to 5 single cells were removed and the editing was checked. He said that parents were offered the choice of using edited or unedited embryos.

The twin girls were born by mid-October 2018, according to emails from He to an adviser. According to He, they appeared to be healthy in all respects. When they were born, it was unclear if there might be long-term effects from the gene-editing; He was asked about his plans to monitor the children, and pay for their care should any problems arise, and how their confidentiality and that of their parents could remain protected. The names of the children used in reports, "Lulu" and "Nana", along with the names of their parents, "Mark" and "Grace", are pseudonyms. In February 2019, He's claims were reported to have been confirmed by Chinese investigators, according to NPR News.

He Jiankui also said at the Hong Kong meeting that a second mother in his clinical experiment was in the early stages of pregnancy. Although there are no official reports, the baby was expected around August 2019, and the birth was confirmed from the court verdict on 30 December which mentioned that there were three genetically edited babies. The baby was later revealed in 2022 as Amy.

In February 2022, Chinese scientists called for building a special facility to care for and study the three children born with genetically edited genomes or 'CRISPR Babies'. They assert that errors could have occurred in the gene editing process. The scientists believe the children's genomes should be regularly sequenced and tested for 'abnormalities'. The proposal has received pushback from the international medical community citing invasion of the children's privacy and future abuses of power.

Gene therapy for rare diseases

On 10 November 2022, He announced that he was setting up a new laboratory in Beijing for research on gene therapy for rare genetic diseases, saying on Twitter: "Today, I moved in my new office in Beijing. This is the first day for Jiankui He Lab." On 24 November, he wrote: "Gene therapy in Western countries often costs millions of dollars, which makes many families fall into poverty due to illness. With the support of social philanthropists, we will overcome three to five genetic diseases within two to three years to benefit families with rare diseases." His first plan is to make a gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy that causes gradual muscle degeneration particularly in boys. He also said on a microblogging site, Weibo, that he had applied for government funding for a DNA synthesiser project, commenting: "[I will] continue the scientific research and serve the country... The biggest use of the DNA synthesiser I plan to make is for information storage. A fingernail-sized piece of synthetic DNA can store the contents of books from the entire national library."

After the incident

On 21 February 2023, Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao reported that He Jiankui said his application for a Hong Kong entry permit through the Top Talent Pass Scheme had been approved. Late that night, the Government of Hong Kong made a public announcement, suggesting that after inspecting the relevant applications, the Immigration Department suspected that He Jiankui had obtained a Hong Kong entry permit by making false statements. The Director of Immigration had declared He Jiankui's entry permit invalid, and a criminal investigation would be conducted.

On 8 September 2023, Wuchang Technical College (武昌理工学院), a private undergraduate college in Wuhan, Hubei, established the Institute of Genetic Medicine, with He Jiankui serving as the inaugural director.

See also

In Spanish: He Jiankui para niños

• Assisted reproduction technology
• Human Nature (2019 CRISPR film documentary)
• Unnatural Selection (2019 TV documentary)