Houston researchers are reportedly not working at Rice University in 2018 as they are involved in the controversial creation of the world’s first genetically edited baby.
According to the Associated Press, Michael Deme is a professor of biotechnology and physics at Rice and is working with Chinese researcher He Jiankui to modify embryonic DNA and make babies resistant to HIV infection. I did it. The study has triggered an investigation into the involvement of Deme by global anger and rice.Deme’s lawyer repeats He denied his participation.
Published story Last month’s statistics Deem first reported that he had separated from the university. A Rice spokesman refused to provide details about his departure or internal investigation.Deemed LinkedIn page It shows that his tenure at Rice ended in 2020.
In a statement, Deme’s lawyer, Matt Hennessy, said Deme “did not participate in human experimentation with He Jiankui” and “moved from rice to another opportunity.”
The exact role of Deem in the project remains unknown. He had previously told reporters that he was in China when the patient agreed to the study. Deem was also nominated as the author of an academic paper on it, but later he asked to remove his name. Associated Press 2018 experiment storyDeme reported that he had “small stocks” in his two companies. When he was a graduate student in Rice, he was also an advisor to his PhD.
The experiment involved altering the embryos of 7 couples during fertility treatment. Twin girls were born first, followed by a third child from another pregnancy. Nature.. Much remains unknown about the child’s current health.
Such experiments are prohibited in the United States. This is because the changes made by modifying the embryo can be inherited and harm other genes. The experiment also violated Chinese government rules, and in 2019 he was convicted of violating medical rules. He was released from prison last week, according to reports.
Deem’s LinkedIn page lists him as the founder and CEO of Certus LLC, a Houston-based energy services company.
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