Kristian G. Andersen

Danish evolutionary biologist

Kristian Andersen

Born|

Denmark

Education| Aarhus University (BSc)
University of Cambridge (PhD)
Known for| Co-author of The Proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2
Scientific career
Fields| Evolutionary biology
Institutions| Scripps Research Institute

Kristian G. Andersen is a Danish evolutionary biologist and professor in the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at Scripps Research in La Jolla, California.[1]

## Education

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Andersen obtained a BSc in molecular biology from Aarhus University in 2004, and a PhD in immunology from the University of Cambridge in 2009.

## Research

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Andersen's work provided insights into the emergence and transmission of Ebola virus during the Western African Ebola virus epidemic.[2][3]

Andersen researched the 2015–16 Zika virus epidemic and gave comment on United States transmission through mosquitos.[4]

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, Andersen and other scientists were consulted by the NIH and NIAID about the possibility of a lab leak.[5][6][7] Andersen, in an email to Anthony Fauci in January 2020, told Fauci, the government's top infectious disease expert, that some features of the virus made him wonder whether it had been engineered, and noted that he and his colleagues were planning to investigate further by analyzing the virus's genome.[8] While Andersen and his colleagues initially suspected that the virus could have escaped from a laboratory in Wuhan, China, after additional analyses and an accumulation of this scientific evidence, Andersen and his co-authors concluded that the hypothesis was unfounded.[9] In a 2022 paper, Andersen concluded that animals sold in a market in Wuhan, China, were most likely to be the source of the virus.[10]

Republicans in the US House of Representatives have interpreted private communications between Andersen and other virologists who authored a paper on the proximal origin of SARS-CoV-2 and Anthony Fauci as a sign of mutual efforts to downplay the probability of a lab-leak.[11] Andersen was interviewed by the United States House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic in June 2023 and testified before the Select Committee in July 2023 on specific discussions between him and other scientists in early 2020 (including a February 1, 2020 conference call) over the origin of COVID-19.[12][13] In his testimony, Andersen rebutted accusations against him and his coauthors, saying that changing their minds after considering new data was "textbook science in action".[14]

## References

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1. ^ "Scripps Research Faculty". scripps.edu.
2. ^ Vence, Tracy (28 August 2014). "Ebola Outbreak Strains Sequenced". The Scientist Magazine. Archived from the original on 8 October 2019.
3. ^ Hayden, Erika Check (30 June 2015). "Ebola Survivors May Be the Key to Treatment—For Almost Any Disease". Wired.
4. ^ Beil, Laura (24 May 2017). "The Zika epidemic began long before anyone noticed". Science News.
5. ^ Hibbett, Maia; Grim, Ryan (January 12, 2022). "House Republicans Release Text of Redacted Fauci Emails on Covid Origins". The Intercept. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
6. ^ Gorman, James; Zimmer, Carl (June 14, 2021). "Scientist Opens Up About His Early Email to Fauci on Virus Origins". The New York Times - via NYTimes.com.
7. ^ "The Mysterious Case of the COVID-19 Lab-Leak Theory". The New Yorker. October 12, 2021.
8. ^ Gorman, James; Zimmer, Carl (2021-06-14). "Scientist Opens Up About His Early Email to Fauci on Virus Origins". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
9. ^ Gorman, James; Zimmer, Carl (14 June 2021). "Scientist Opens Up About His Early Email to Fauci on Virus Origins". The New York Times.
10. ^ Christensen, Jen (July 27, 2022). "Covid-19 origins: New studies agree that animals sold at Wuhan market are most likely what started pandemic". CNN. Retrieved 2022-07-27.
11. ^ Kozlov, Max (12 July 2023). "US congressional hearing produces heat but no light on COVID-origins debate". Nature. 619 (7970): 444–445. doi:10.1038/d41586-023-02261-w.
12. ^ "Interview of: Kristian Andersen (Friday, June 16, 2023)" (PDF). oversight.house.gov. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
13. ^ "Testimony of Dr. Kristian G. Andersen, PhD (July 11, 2023)" (PDF). oversight.house.gov. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
14. ^ Kozlov, Max (12 July 2023). "US congressional hearing produces heat but no light on COVID-origins debate". Nature. 619 (7970): 444–445. doi:10.1038/d41586-023-02261-w.

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