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Portrait of He Jiankui

Photo: The He Lab · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Born in China · Nationality Chinese — biophysics / CRISPR / gene editing / bioethics / medical law

He Jiankui

Science, medicine and health

Documented profile covering 10 controversies, including “2023–2026: repeated attempts to revive gene-editing career despite continuing ethical opposition” and “2022–2023: public return after imprisonment with gene therapy project met with scientific scepticism”.

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Profile No. 1896 · Updated on 12 October 2026

Portrait of He Jiankui

Photo: The He Lab · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
10Documented controversies+ 1 background event
11Sources
1 followed by a conviction

§ Legal statuses reflect the documented sources as of the date shown; they replace neither court decisions nor the presumption of innocence. Counts are not a rating. Methodology

I. Documented controversies

01

2023–September 2026

2023–2026: repeated attempts to revive gene-editing career despite continuing ethical opposition

No legal proceedings

He continued to promote gene therapy projects and seek a new institutional base, while remaining a central case in ethical debates concerning germline editing. In 2025, bioethicists explicitly discussed the risks of giving him another scientific platform; he stated that he intended to continue his research despite practical restrictions.

State of the evidence
Documented
Attribution
Directly implicated

Sources · 2

  1. [1]
    Asian Bioethics Review / PMCHe is Back—The Ethics of a Spotlight on a Past Rogue ScientistAcademic publicationHigh reliability
  2. [2]
    South China Morning PostWhat next for He Jiankui, the human gene editor locked in limbo?PressHigh reliability

Last verified: 13 September 2026

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Case · 4 documented stages

2022–2023: public return after imprisonment with gene therapy project met with scientific scepticism

Conviction
02

April 2022–February 2023

2022–2023: public return after imprisonment with gene therapy project met with scientific scepticism

Conviction

After serving his sentence, He reappeared publicly and announced new gene therapy projects, particularly for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, with timetables considered unrealistic by several specialists.

State of the evidence
Documented
Attribution
Directly implicated

Sources · 2

  1. [1]
    Associated PressFor man behind gene-edited babies, a rocky return to scienceNews agencyHigh reliability
  2. [2]
    South China Morning PostControversy over He Jiankui's latest muscular dystrophy research planPressHigh reliability

Last verified: 13 September 2026

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04

November 2018–December 2019

2018–2019: third edited pregnancy disclosed; judgment subsequently confirms three children born

Conviction

At the Hong Kong summit, He disclosed that another pregnancy resulting from the protocol was under way. The 2019 verdict ultimately stated that two women had given birth to three genetically edited babies.

State of the evidence
Confirmed

Sources · 2

  1. [1]
    NatureCRISPR-baby scientist fails to satisfy criticsPressHigh reliability
  2. [2]
    XinhuaThree sentenced in China's 'gene-edited babies' trialPressHigh reliability

Last verified: 13 September 2026

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07

30 December 2019

2019: sentenced to three years in prison and fined 3 million yuan for illegal medical practice

Conviction

The Shenzhen court convicted He of illegally carrying out gene editing on human embryos for reproductive purposes. The judgment cited, among other factors, his lack of medical qualifications, violations of rules and ethical principles, the forged certificate and the birth of three genetically edited children.

State of the evidence
Established by a court
Attribution
Accused

Sources · 1

  1. [1]
    XinhuaThree sentenced in China's 'gene-edited babies' trialPressHigh reliability

Last verified: 13 September 2026

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10

25–28 November 2018

2018: announcement of the birth of Lulu and Nana, claimed to be the first genetically edited babies

Conviction

A few days before the international summit in Hong Kong, He announced the birth of twin girls whose CCR5 gene he claimed to have modified using CRISPR-Cas9. The announcement prompted worldwide condemnation of the methods, safety concerns and lack of governance.

State of the evidence
Confirmed

Sources · 2

  1. [1]
    NatureCRISPR-baby scientist fails to satisfy criticsPressHigh reliability
  2. [2]
    XinhuaThree sentenced in China's 'gene-edited babies' trialPressHigh reliability

Last verified: 13 September 2026

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03

21 February 2023

2023: Hong Kong talent visa revoked within hours over suspected false declaration

Investigation

Hong Kong granted and then almost immediately revoked a visa under the Top Talent Pass Scheme after authorities suspected false declarations in the application; a criminal investigation was announced.

Attribution
Protagonist is the complainant

Sources · 1

  1. [1]
    South China Morning PostHong Kong revokes work visa of He JiankuiPressHigh reliability

Last verified: 13 September 2026

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05

21 January 2019

2019: Chinese investigation and immediate dismissal from SUSTech

Investigation

Following the preliminary provincial investigation, Southern University of Science and Technology terminated He's contract and ended all his teaching and research activities within the university.

State of the evidence
Documented
Attribution
Directly implicated

Sources · 1

  1. [1]
    SUSTechSouthern University of Science and Technology Public StatementInstitutional responsibilityHigh reliability

Last verified: 13 September 2026

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06

2019

2019: retraction of his paper proposing ethical principles for reproductive editing after failure to disclose his clinical trial

No legal proceedings

The CRISPR Journal retracted a paper in which He and his co-authors proposed ethical principles for reproductive technologies, finding that the failure to disclose the ongoing clinical experiment had affected the editorial assessment.

Sources · 1

  1. [1]
    The CRISPR JournalRetracted: Draft Ethical Principles for Therapeutic Assisted Reproductive TechnologiesAcademic publicationHigh reliability

Last verified: 13 September 2026

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08

2018

2018: fabricated ethics certificate and consent presented as an "AIDS vaccine project"

Civil / administrative proceedings

Investigations and the judgment established that an ethics review certificate had been fabricated. The consent form described the project as the development of an "AIDS vaccine", wording deemed misleading for an unprecedented experiment involving embryo gene editing.

State of the evidence
Documented

Sources · 3

  1. [1]
    XinhuaThree sentenced in China's 'gene-edited babies' trialPressHigh reliability
  2. [2]
    Journal of Bioethical Inquiry / PMCThe Consent Form in the Chinese CRISPR StudyAcademic publicationHigh reliability
  3. [3]
    Journal of Law and the Biosciences / PMCCRISPR’d babies: human germline genome editing in the 'He Jiankui affair'Academic publicationHigh reliability

Last verified: 13 September 2026

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09

2018

2018: CCR5 gene targeted to prevent an infection avoidable by other means, with off-target editing and mosaicism risks

No legal proceedings

The protocol targeted CCR5 to reduce future vulnerability to HIV in children whose fathers were HIV-positive. Experts stressed that the medical need was limited compared with the permanent and hereditary risks, and that the mutations obtained were not equivalent to the naturally occurring protective variant.

State of the evidence
Documented

Sources · 3

  1. [1]
    NatureCRISPR-baby scientist fails to satisfy criticsPressHigh reliability
  2. [2]
    Journal of Law and the Biosciences / PMCCRISPR’d babies: human germline genome editing in the 'He Jiankui affair'Academic publicationHigh reliability
  3. [3]
    Journal of Bioethical Inquiry / PMCThe Consent Form in the Chinese CRISPR StudyAcademic publicationHigh reliability

Last verified: 13 September 2026

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II. Documented background

Documented biographical or institutional milestones (elections, appointments, foundings, acquisitions…). These are not controversies and are not counted as such.

  1. 2017–November 2018

    2017–2018: secret launch of human germline editing project outside normal university oversight

    He Jiankui organised a programme intended to genetically modify human embryos for implantation, while his university stated that it had not been informed and the international scientific community considered the reproductive use of germline editing premature.

    Sources · 2
    1. Journal of Law and the Biosciences / PMC — CRISPR’d babies: human germline genome editing in the 'He Jiankui affair'
    2. Nature — CRISPR-baby scientist fails to satisfy critics

III. Constellation of documented links

  • Linked profile (portrait or initials) — click to open it
  • Line width: number of documented references
  • Hover over or tap a line: controversies and sources

Two profiles are linked when a documented controversy of one names the other. The link points to that controversy and its sources; it does not indicate a personal relationship.

List of documented links (2)
  1. George Church1 documented reference
  2. Jennifer Doudna1 documented reference

IV. Has something changed?

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