The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), formerly led by Dr. Anthony Fauci, supplied a Chinese military scientist, Dr. Shibo Jiang, with numerous research grants totaling over $20 million in federal funds over the past two decades, Kanekoa News first reported.
NIAID awarded Dr. Peter Hotez, a member of the Lancet Covid Commission and noted critic of the lab-leak theory, with a more than $1 million grant in 2016 for “biodefense” research, with Dr. Jiang listed as a principal investigator. Dr. Jiang has a history of strong ties to the Chinese government, having received his education and served as a visiting professor at various Chinese military universities. Dr. Hotez has recently re-entered the spotlight after blasting Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Twitter but has previously denied any connection to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Grant Details From NIH
The $1.1 million grant, provided by Dr. Fauci’s agency, specifically focused on creating a “biodefense” vaccine in the case of a “reintroduction of SARS-CoV into humans” due to an “accidental release from a laboratory.” During this period Dr. Jiang actively collaborated with People’s Liberation Army (PLA) scientists on numerous papers funded by Chinese government institutions, Kanekoa news reports.
Dr. Shibo Jiang received his Master’s degree from the People’s Liberation Army’s Guangzhou First Military Medical University and his Medical Doctor degree from Xi’an Fourth Military Medical University. Since his postdoctoral training at Rockefeller University in New York from 1987 to 1990, Dr. Jiang has held various positions, including as a visiting professor for multiple PLA universities. (RELATED: Scientist Who Blasted Lab-Leak ‘Conspiracy’ Theory Funded Wuhan Lab Research, Didn’t Disclose)
He currently serves as deputy director of a molecular virology lab at Fudan University in China, according to the University’s website. He notably served as a visiting professor at the Academy of Military Medical Sciences, which was sanctioned in 2021 by the Biden Administration as a threat to national security.
Dr. Jiang is also a member of China’s Thousand Talents program, a program which identifies Chinese nationals living abroad to work for the Chinese Government. The FBI identified individuals in the program as posing heightened “risks to national security because of the participant’s obligation to the Chinese government” and that it could result “in inappropriate use of taxpayer funds if the participant is awarded a U.S. government grant.”