George Church's Harvard Lab Roiled by Epstein Tissue Sample Controversy
Key Takeaways
- ▶ Tissue samples from Jeffrey Epstein were discovered in Harvard geneticist George Church's laboratory, sparking internal controversy, STAT News reported.
- ▶ Church, a prominent genomics researcher, previously acknowledged meeting with Epstein and accepting research funding from the convicted sex offender.
- ▶ The STAT News report did not specify when the samples arrived, how they were obtained, or what research purposes they served.
- ▶ Church publicly apologized in 2019 for his association with Epstein after the financier's arrest on federal sex trafficking charges.
Tissue samples from Jeffrey Epstein were discovered in the Harvard laboratory of geneticist George Church, igniting internal controversy at the research facility, STAT News reported.1
The presence of Epstein’s biological samples in Church’s lab sparked a furor among laboratory staff and researchers, according to the report.1 STAT News did not specify when the samples arrived at the lab, how they were obtained, or what research purposes they may have served.1
Church’s Epstein Ties
George Church is a prominent geneticist and professor at Harvard Medical School known for his work in genomics and synthetic biology. His financial relationship with Epstein became public in 2019 following the financier’s arrest on federal sex trafficking charges.
In an August 2019 interview with The Boston Globe, Church apologized for his association with Epstein, acknowledging he had met with him multiple times and that Epstein had directed funding to his laboratory. Church told the Globe he was unaware of the full extent of Epstein’s criminal history during their interactions.
Epstein was convicted in 2008 on state charges of soliciting a minor in Florida. He died in August 2019 in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
Harvard’s Financial Ties
Harvard University announced in May 2020 that it had received approximately $9.1 million in donations from Epstein between 1998 and 2007. The university pledged to donate an amount equivalent to unspent funds to organizations supporting victims of human trafficking and sexual assault.
Church was among several Harvard faculty members who maintained contact with Epstein after his 2008 conviction. The financier cultivated relationships with numerous scientists and academic institutions, often presenting himself as a philanthropist interested in funding research.
The circumstances under which Epstein’s tissue samples came to be stored in Church’s laboratory, and what became of them after the controversy erupted, remain unclear based on the STAT News report.1
Jeffrey Epstein