June 30, 2023
The Honorable Cathy McMorris Rodgers
Chair
Committee on Energy and Commerce
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chair Rodgers:
As your letter of May 30 referred to my research, I thought it would be helpful if I replied directly to clarify my goals and clear up any misunderstandings. First, I would like to describe my education and research background. After receiving an M.D. from the New York University School of Medicine, I interned at Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Boston, and then completed a Ph.D. in biochemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. I then enlisted in the U.S. Public Health Service in 1966 and was detailed to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where I joined the Laboratory of Biology of Viruses in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) as a Medical Officer. I was subsequently promoted to the dual positions of Chief of the Laboratory of Viral Diseases, a position that I held for about 35 years, and Chief of the Genetic Engineering Section, a position that I still hold that allows me to do research full-time.
For more than 50 years I have investigated the biology and host interactions of poxviruses and have published more than 800 original scientific papers on the subject, and several of my inventions have been patented by the U.S. Government. My contributions have been recognized by election to the National Academy of Sciences and the receipt of prestigious awards, the most recent being the Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Society for Microbiology.
My research on mpox began about 15 years ago when I moved my research into the newly constructed C.W “Bill” Young Center (building 33), named for the congressman who was a strong proponent of biomedical research during his more than three decades in the House of Representatives. This high containment facility allows NIH to safely carry out basic research on infectious diseases of global importance that occur naturally or may be caused by agents intentionally released through an act of bioterrorism. All my research on the mpox virus has been carried out under BSL-3 and ABSL-3 containment in building 33, using protocols that have been approved by a rigorous review process.
Mpox is a zoonosis that has been increasing in incidence in Africa since it was first recognized in 1970, but largely neglected by the outside world. Historically, there have been more cases of mpox in Central Africa than in West Africa and the severity of the disease is higher in the former. In that respect, it is fortunate that all cases of mpox outside of Africa have been caused by the less virulent clade II virus from West Africa rather than clade I from Central Africa. Nevertheless, we should be prepared for the possibility of the more virulent Central African
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