Eric Lander

Auto-generated profile pending review. This entry was compiled from public reporting because Eric Lander is named in connection with the Epstein files. It has not yet been editorially expanded.

Is Eric Lander in the Epstein files?

Yes. Eric Lander (Mathematician and genomicist; founding director of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard (2003–2020); former Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (2021–2022); co-leader of the Human Genome Project) is named in connection with the Jeffrey Epstein files. DOJ-released Epstein files document meetings between Lander and Epstein in 2012 at Harvard University’s Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, an institute led by mathematician Martin Nowak and funded substantially by Epstein. Photographs from the 2012 meeting — which circulated publicly after Epstein’s July 2019 arrest — show Lander in a group with Epstein at Nowak’s office; the photographs were first reported by BuzzFeed News in August 2019. Lander appears in 429 documents in the released files. During his January 2021 Senate confirmation hearing for the position of Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy under President Biden, senators specifically questioned him about the meetings with Epstein; Lander stated that he had attended two meetings in 2012, that he was invited by Nowak and was unaware Epstein would be present, and that he had never requested or received funds from Epstein or his foundation. Lander was confirmed as OSTP director by the Senate in May 2021 and resigned from the role in February 2022 following a staff bullying report unrelated to Epstein. No wrongdoing in connection with Epstein is alleged against him.

Being named in the files is not evidence of any crime or wrongdoing. People appear in these documents in many contexts — correspondence, flight logs, contact books, scheduling, photographs, or passing references. See the sources below for the specific, documented context, and the note at the bottom of this page.