Richard Ebright
Cory amplifies 156×Rutgers microbiologist on biosafety and lab-leak — a domain expert, not a partisan.
Board of Governors Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Rutgers University and lab director at the Waksman Institute of Microbiology. A longstanding critic of gain-of-function research and lab-biosafety lapses, he co-founded the nonprofit Biosafety Now and is a prominent proponent of the COVID-19 lab-leak hypothesis, having testified to the U.S. Senate in June 2024.
In their words
“There are >800 commercially available restriction enzymes. Only one--BsmBI--is named in EcoHealth DEFUSE proposal (P<0.002…”
The strongest case
Research that enhances a pathogen's transmissibility or lethality carries a catastrophic accidental-pandemic risk that outweighs its benefits, and therefore demands far stronger oversight, transparency, and independent review than currently exists.
And against
Critics say he asserts contested origin claims with more certainty than the evidence supports, and that his sharp public attacks on named colleagues can chill legitimate scientific debate.
How to support
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On the record: no documented legal record found in a primary source.