He Jiankui

| t = 賀建奎 | p = Hè Jiànkuí | mi = }} He Jiankui ( ; born 1984) is a Chinese biophysicist known for his controversial first use of genome editing in humans in 2018.

He served as associate professor of biology at the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China, before his dismissal from the university in January 2019. In November 2018, He announced that he had created the first human genetically edited babies, twin girls who were born modified with HIV resistance in October 2018 and were known by their pseudonyms, Lulu and Nana. The announcement was initially praised in the press as a major scientific advancement. However, following scrutiny on how the experiment was executed, he received widespread condemnation from the public and scientific community. An investigation report showed that he raised money for his research to evade government and university research regulations.

His research activities were suspended by the Chinese authorities on 29 November 2018, and he was fired by SUSTech on 21 January 2019. On 30 December 2019, a Chinese district court found He Jiankui guilty of illegal practice of medicine (equivalent to the crime of "practicing medicine without a license" in many other jurisdictions), sentencing him to three years in prison with a fine of 3 million yuan. He was released from prison in April 2022.

In February 2023, his application for a Hong Kong work visa was granted but was soon revoked after the Hong Kong Immigration Department launched a criminal investigation against him for making false statements in his application. In September 2023, He was recruited by the Wuchang University of Technology, a private college in Wuhan, Hubei, to serve as the inaugural director for the school's Genetic Medicine Institute.

He was listed as one of ''Time'' 100 most influential people of 2019, in the section "Pioneers". At the same time he was variously referred to as a "rogue scientist", "China's Dr. Frankenstein", and a "mad genius". Provided by Wikipedia