US curbs gain-of-function virus research funding

The United States released a new policy Tuesday curtailing federal funding for some gain-of-function biological research, including restrictions on work in countries or institutions that Washington says lack adequate safety and oversight standards.

Gain-of-function experiments aim to enhance the properties of pathogens to help predict emerging infectious diseases and support development of treatments, including vaccines.

The policy, announced by the US State Department and Health and Human Services, fulfils President Donald Trump's May 2025 executive order on the research.

Health and Human Services said the policy prohibits federal support for dangerous gain-of-function research in the United States and abroad, creates independent review for some high-risk life sciences research, and restricts federal funding for research in places without appropriate biosafety, biosecurity and oversight standards.

The State Department called the policy "an America First approach to scientific research." Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, wrote in a Wall Street Journal opinion article that the policy was meant to preserve benefits of life-sciences research while defining the highest-risk areas, including prevention of accidental or intentional lab leaks and penalties for irresponsible practices.

Trump's administration says such research caused the Covid-19 pandemic through a lab leak in China. Trump has long supported the theory that SARS-CoV-2 leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology as a result of gain-of-function research, rather than spilling over naturally from wild animals to humans at a seafood market in the same city.

Anthony Fauci, Washington's former top infectious disease official, has insisted that the United States did not fund such research in China. The new policy comes as Fauci's private diary has been released by Republican Senator Rand Paul, including entries that highlight disagreement over Covid-19's origins as the pandemic was unfolding. Fauci is scheduled to testify before a Senate committee on Wednesday.