On Dec. 4, alongside 15 other public health organizations, the AAMC joined a letter expressing strong concern with including a blanket ban on research categorized as “gain-of-function” (PDF) in the fiscal year 2025 appropriations bills for Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee and the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Subcommittee.
The letter described the detrimental impact these proposed bans would have on public health and on the United States’ role as a global leader in biomedical research, citing extensive guidance issued by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy in May 2024 that addressed the oversight of dual-use research of concern and pathogens with enhanced pandemic potential. “While we understand that there may be concerns with inappropriate applications of research deemed ‘gain-of-function,’ with adequate guidance, oversight, and safety standards in place, we can prevent those types of projects from going forward without hampering valuable research that would protect and enhance our nation's health security and the United States’ ability to remain a leader on the global stage.”
The AAMC also joined an April 2022 letter to House and Senate leadership opposing restrictions to research categorized as “gain-of-function” PDF).