Half of the money I've made from the book has been donated to charity (non-political). I have not accepted $ for doing #OriginOfCovid research despite several offers. Thankfully the publication and open access fees were waived for my peer reviewed paper. academic.oup.com/mbe/article/39…
I am honored to be part of a Taskforce that looks into how pathogen research can be made safer and more transparent. There is no compensation tied to this role. This Taskforce and conference do not discuss #OriginOfCovid but the much larger issue of lab-based outbreaks.
Over the past 2.5 years, some virologists have tried unsuccessfully to assert that I am not qualified to comment on #OriginOfCovid or have an agenda. The attacks have gotten worse and worse despite the lab leak hypothesis becoming more widely accepted. x.com/ayjchan/status…
Over the past 2.5 years, some virologists have tried unsuccessfully to assert that I am not qualified to comment on #OriginOfCovid or have an agenda. The attacks have gotten worse and worse despite the lab leak hypothesis becoming more widely accepted. x.com/ayjchan/status…
A major development was the release of FOIA'ed emails in 2021 revealing that the highly influential Proximal Origin letter dismissing a lab #OriginOfCovid as implausible had come out of discussions with funders & collaborators of the Wuhan scientists + gain-of-function advocates.
After the emails were released, the 1st author of Proximal Origin deleted ~5,000 tweets before deactivating his twitter account. Among others, I called for the release of the unredacted emails so the public might understand how they changed their minds about lab #OriginOfCovid
This summer, data was accidentally released revealing that a senior author of Proximal Origin had collaborated with the Wuhan scientists suspected of being involved in the #OriginOfCovid on the study of novel SARS-like viruses. x.com/ayjchan/status…
This summer, data was accidentally released revealing that a senior author of Proximal Origin had collaborated with the Wuhan scientists suspected of being involved in the #OriginOfCovid on the study of novel SARS-like viruses. x.com/ayjchan/status…
I pointed out that this clear conflict of interest should have been declared in the #OriginOfCovid papers this scientist had authored. x.com/ayjchan/status…
I pointed out that this clear conflict of interest should have been declared in the #OriginOfCovid papers this scientist had authored. x.com/ayjchan/status…
I guess it's very challenging for the Proximal Origin authors and their friends to understand why a junior researcher who isn't getting paid for #OriginOfCovid research aside from VIRAL would spend so much time advocating for an investigation and safer pathogen research...
... why would I put myself in harm's way and endure years of abuse from these virologists? Why did I make this decision long before the prospect of writing a book? It's because I want to know how this pandemic started and I don't think politics should prevent science.
There is no person in the shadows funding and advising me on #OriginOfCovid My funders have never been involved in discussions about my manuscripts. I have no ties to the wildlife trade or virus hunting. The same cannot be said for Proximal Origin.
@Ayjchan You're awesome. We need more of this type of academic activism. It's the only way to counter-balance all the disproportionate influence yielded by those with well-funded agendas. Stay strong, we need you!