Shanghai announced the investigation results of a gene-editing research incident at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine on Friday. The principal researcher, who was deputy director of its affiliated Songjiang Research Institute, has been dismissed, and the school has been summoned for talks, with a directive to conduct a deep reflection.
The city-level investigation and handling task force stated that, following a report in the journal Science regarding a paper published in the journal Nature by a research team from Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, which involved the death of a child during a clinical study at Xinhua Hospital affiliated with the school, a comprehensive and in-depth investigation has been conducted, and clear handling opinions have been formulated.
The child was diagnosed with Snijders Blok-Campeau syndrome, a rare neurodevelopmental disorder in children, for which there is no effective treatment. In July 2023, the child's family proactively contacted the principal researcher surnamed Qiu, seeking a customized gene-editing therapy. Qiu's team specialized in preclinical basic research, with companies in Guangdong and Sichuan provinces preparing viral vectors and conducting large animal safety trials, respectively.
In January 2025, the ethics committee of Xinhua Hospital approved the clinical study, and the child received the injection treatment in March of the same year. She died on March 31 due to thrombotic microangiopathy, a complication from the gene therapy, as determined by the hospital. The related research paper was published in Nature in February 2026.
Following the incident, Shanghai established an investigation and handling task force, forming four expert groups focused on on-site verification, research integrity, medical ethics, and data verification. They communicated with the girl's family to understand the situation and investigated the involved institutions and personnel regarding preclinical research, clinical research, and original paper data.
The investigation found that Qiu's team from the Songjiang Research Institute and relevant personnel from Xinhua Hospital did not strictly adhere to relevant regulations during the research. Issues included failing to timely report safety findings, not disclosing negative research results in the paper, and not accurately disclosing conflicts of interest. Although no data fabrication was found in the paper in question, there were academic misconduct issues.
Additionally, the scientific review of the clinical research at the hospital was insufficient, the ethical review was inadequate, and there were flaws in informed consent. Some personnel received a total of about 1.06 million yuan ($158,900) from the child's family, which has been returned and handed over according to regulations.
Qiu and another main researcher on his team surnamed Yang have been dismissed and barred from undertaking or participating in scientific projects and award evaluations for five years, and their actions have been recorded in the research integrity serious breach database.
Several other responsible individuals, including the clinical lead of this gene-editing trial surnamed Yu, who works at Xinhua Hospital, have been dismissed or demoted.
Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Xinhua Hospital, and Songjiang District Central Hospital — which was also involved in the incident — have been summoned for talks and required to make corrections, with related medical institutions facing administrative penalties based on the law.
The task force urged related institutions to use this case to promote reform, draw lessons, and strengthen comprehensive supervision. The Shanghai Municipal Health Commission has formulated a special inspection plan for clinical research on new biomedical technologies and has organized inspection and rectification efforts.
