Gain of Function

About Gain of Function

Gain of function GOF research involves modifying pathogens to increase their transmissibility, virulence, or host range. GOF experiments aim to understand pandemic potential and develop countermeasures. In 2011, two research teams showed that H5N1 avian influenza could be modified to transmit between ferrets via respiratory droplets. The studies by Ron Fouchier and Yoshihiro Kawaoka triggered intense debate about whether the research was worth the risk. The Obama administration paused GOF research on SARS, MERS, and influenza in 2014. The pause was lifted in 2017 with new oversight requirements. The NIH funded bat coronavirus research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology through the EcoHealth Alliance, raising questions about whether this constituted GOF. Senator Rand Paul and Anthony Fauci publicly disputed whether this research met the definition of GOF during 2021 Senate hearings. The National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity oversees GOF research. The risk benefit balance of GOF research remains intensely debated.