John J. Zhang

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with John X. J. Zhang.
John J. Zhang
张进
Other namesZhang Jin
Education
New York University School of Medicine
  • New Hope Fertility Center
    • Websitedrjohnzhang.com

    John Jin Zhang (

    spindle transfer technique of mitochondrial replacement.[2][3] Having obtained an M.D. from Zhejiang University School of Medicine, an M.Sc. from University of Birmingham, and a Ph.D. from University of Cambridge, he became the founder-director of New Hope Fertility Center in New York, USA.[4]

    Biography

    John Zhang studied at the

    New York University School of Medicine in 1997. He became the first Fellow in the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility of New York University School of Medicine in 2001.[5] In 2004, he founded the New Hope Fertility Center in New York City, becoming its Medical Director. The clinic has been extended to China, Russia, and Mexico.[6]

    Scientific contributions

    In 2003, while working with researchers at the

    three-parent baby". There was about 70% success in fertilization. Five embryos were implanted in the mother's uterus, and she became pregnant. Zhang published a preliminary report in 2003 in the journal Fertility and Sterility.[8] However, he was careful of the outcome and did not disclose the full data and results. He had regret for breaking the news so soon, blaming his collaborator as "so eager to be famous". As it happened, none of the embryos survived to full term.[9] He made the full report only after 13 years, in October 2016.[10]

    In order to help a woman in Mexico who had a genetic-neurological trait called

    spindle transfer technique in 2015. Leigh syndrome in the mother is due to mutations in the mitochondrial DNA. The mother already had four miscarriages, and even in the two successful births, the children suffered from the disease and died. Therefore, the only solution was to replace the mutant genes with healthy ones. Zhang and his team took the nucleus from the mother's egg cell and inserted it into a different egg, taken from a donor woman with no genetic abnormality, which had had its original nucleus removed. Thus, the mother's nucleus replaced the nucleus in a donor cell, which had genetically normal mitochondria. The new egg cell was then fertilized with the father's sperm. Zhang could produce only one normally developing embryo out of five he created.[2] The embryo was then implanted in the mother's uterus, and a healthy boy was born nine months later, on 6 April 2016.[3] The study was published in the September 2016 issue of Fertility and Sterility.[11]

    Criticisms and comments

    Although the baby does not indicate symptoms of Leigh syndrome, there are still concerns over the genetic conditions. According to the first report, the technique did not completely remove the mother's mitochondria, such that about 1-2% of her faulty mtDNA remained.[12] However, it is generally considered that less than 20% is too low to cause any problems.[9]

    There are also concerns over ethical and legal issues. There is an argument that the technique is very close to human cloning, which is generally objected to. There is also opposition to the nuclear transfer method due to the waste of embryos, or potential risk to children born by the technique. The latter point is particularly evidenced by the death of the fetuses in China in the earlier experimentation, which caused China to ban the technique.[13] In the US, the FDA restricts any mitochondrial transfer techniques in humans, and requires an Investigational New Drug application.[14] In contrast, the UK became the first country to legalize it, in 2015.[15] However, Zhang chose the clinic branch in Mexico, saying that "there are no rules [there]". He commented that "To save lives is the ethical thing to do."[16] Sian Harding, a member of the British Nuffield Council on Bioethics and the Scientific Advisory Board of the PPP "Stem Cells for Safer Medicines", also defended Zhang, saying that there was no deliberate destruction of embryos, and said, "It's as good as or better than what we'll do in the UK."[17]

    As of 2019, his affiliations with scientist

    medical tourism business in Hainan for gene-edited babies.[18][19][20]

    Honours

    Zhang is a founder and member of the Life Science Society at Cambridge University. He is a consultant for Reproductive Nuclear Transfer and Stem Cell Research, Cellular Reconstruction and the Special Programme of Therapeutic Cloning at Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou. He is also a consultant for the IVF and Gamete Laboratory at the Fertility Centre of Wenzhou Medical College, Zhejiang Province, China. He is a member of British Fertility Society, and of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM).[5]

    In May 2020, The Times featured Zhang on their 'Science Power List.'[21]

    References

    1. PMID 20810320
      .
    2. ^ a b Hamzelou, Jessica (27 September 2016). "World's first baby born with new "3 parent" technique". New Scientist. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
    3. ^ a b Scutti, Susan (28 September 2016). "It's a (controversial 3-parent baby technique) boy!". CNN. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
    4. ^ "John Zhang, MD, PhD, MSc – Darwin Life". darwinlife.com. Archived from the original on 18 November 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
    5. ^ a b "Dr John Zhang". www.newivf.org. Archived from the original on 28 October 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
    6. ^ "Dr. John Zhang NYC Fertility Doctor". New Hope Fertility Center. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
    7. ^ Özkaya, Özge (22 August 2016). "Mitochondrial donation case study finally published after 13 years". www.bionews.org.uk. Archived from the original on 29 October 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
    8. doi:10.1016/S0015-0282(03)01953-8
      .
    9. ^
      S2CID 86662293
      .
    10. PMID 27523926
      .
    11. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2016.08.004
      .
    12. ^ Couzin-Frankel, Jennifer (27 September 2016). "Unanswered questions surround baby born to three parents". Science. AAAS. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
    13. ^ Grady, Denise (14 October 2003). "Pregnancy Created Using Egg Nucleus Of Infertile Woman". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
    14. ^ Tingley, Kim (27 June 2014). "The Brave New World of Three-Parent I.V.F." The New York Times. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
    15. PMID 26351372
      .
    16. ^ Johnston, Ian (27 September 2016). "World's first baby born using new 'three-parent' technique". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-06-13. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
    17. ^ Fidler, Julie (29 September 2016). "The World's First 3-Parent-Baby Has Arrived". Natural Society. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
    18. ^ Regalado, Antonio. "China's CRISPR babies: Read exclusive excerpts from the unseen original research". MIT Technology Review.
    19. ^ "The untold story of the 'circle of trust' behind the world's first gene-edited babies". Science | AAAS. August 1, 2019.
    20. ^ Regalado, Antonio. "Disgraced CRISPR scientist had plans to start a designer-baby business". MIT Technology Review.
    21. ISSN 0140-0460
      . Retrieved 2020-05-26.
    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_J._Zhang&oldid=1174395215"