Executive order blocked
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Covers NIH's suspension of pathogen research studies in response to executive order on gain-of-function oversight, relevant to AI safety's biosecurity concerns and dual-use research governance frameworks.
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In response to a Trump executive order on gain-of-function (GOF) research oversight, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has suspended dozens of federally-funded pathogen studies, with 40 projects immediately suspended and an additional 172 flagged for potential termination. The suspensions affect research on tuberculosis, influenza, COVID-19, and other pathogens conducted primarily at U.S. universities and some NIH in-house laboratories. While the agency is erring on the side of caution regarding potentially dangerous research, many infectious disease scientists have expressed puzzlement and dismay at the selections, particularly the large number of tuberculosis studies affected.
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# Exclusive: NIH suspends dozens of pathogen studies over ‘gain-of-function’ concerns
## Trump executive order leads to pauses on U.S.-funded research into TB, influenza, COVID-19, and other diseases, dismaying some scientists
- 11 Jul 2025
- 5:15 PM ET
- By [Jon Cohen](https://www.science.org/content/author/jon-cohen "Jon Cohen"), [Jocelyn Kaiser](https://www.science.org/content/author/jocelyn-kaiser "Jocelyn Kaiser")
Many of the studies suspended by the National Institutes of Health as potentially dangerous center on research with the bacterium that causes tuberculosis.NIAID/NIH
[Table of contents](https://www.science.org/toc/science/389/6757)
A version of this story appeared in Science, Vol 389, Issue 6757. [Download PDF](https://www.science.org/doi/epdf/10.1126/science.aea6494 "")
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In response to White House concerns about allegedly risky research on viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has begun a crackdown on dozens of studies it was funding, _Science_ has learned.
Citing President Donald Trump’s executive order promising greater oversight of “gain-of-function” (GOF) research that’s potentially dangerous, the agency has demanded the scientists leading those studies suspend part or all of their work and propose modifications to their experiments that would limit any risk of creating more deadly or transmissible pathogens.
“NIH has identified 40 projects that may meet the definition of dangerous gain-of-function research. … Erring on the side of caution, all projects potentially meeting the definition are being suspended,” Matt Memoli, NIH’s deputy director, wrote in a 3 July draft letter to the White House describing NIH’s “interim response” to the executive order. The letter, obtained by _Science_, indicates an additional 172 projects have been flagged for potential suspension or termination.
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