Brian P. Hanley (born c. 1957) is an American

microbiologist A microbiologist (from Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, fungi, and some types of par ...

and founder of Butterfly Sciences. He is known for self-experimenting with

gene therapy Gene therapy is a medical field which focuses on the genetic modification of cells to produce a therapeutic effect or the treatment of disease by repairing or reconstructing defective genetic material. The first attempt at modifying human D ...

to try to improve health span.

Biography

Early in his research career, Hanley’s areas of study were biodefense and terrorism. He contributed chapters to two books about these subjects. Hanley obtained a PhD in Microbiology from

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The inst ...

in 2009. The same year, he founded Butterfly Sciences in

Davis, California Davis is the most populous city in Yolo County, California. Located in the Sacramento Valley region of Northern California, the city had a population of 66,850 in 2020, not including the on-campus population of the University of California, Da ...

to develop a gene therapy to treat

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immu ...

AIDS using a combination of GHRH and an intracellular vaccine. After founding Butterfly Sciences, Hanley continued publishing scholarly literature in multiple fields that examined economic topics such as banking,

cryptocurrency A cryptocurrency, crypto-currency, or crypto is a digital currency designed to work as a medium of exchange through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or bank, to uphold or maintain it. It ...

and climate. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, with

Steve Keen Steve Keen (born 28 March 1953) is an Australian economist and author. He considers himself a post-Keynesian, criticising neoclassical economics as inconsistent, unscientific and empirically unsupported. The major influences on Keen's thinking ...

and George Church, Hanley also contributed to literature about public health strategy in response to the pandemic.

Self-experimentation

Hanley could not raise money for his company Butterfly Sciences and decided to obtain proof of concept by testing gene therapy on himself. Hanley said: “''I wanted to prove it, I wanted to do it for myself, and I wanted to make progress.''” He designed the

plasmid A plasmid is a small, extrachromosomal DNA molecule within a cell that is physically separated from chromosomal DNA and can replicate independently. They are most commonly found as small circular, double-stranded DNA molecules in bacteria; howev ...

containing a gene coding for

growth hormone–releasing hormone Growth hormone–releasing hormone (GHRH), also known as somatocrinin or by several other names in its endogenous forms and as somatorelin (INN) in its pharmaceutical form, is a releasing hormone of growth hormone (GH). It is a 44-amino acid pe ...

and had it made by a scientific supply company for around $10,000. However, the total cost of development was over $500,000. He said that he corresponded with the FDA prior to starting his self-experimentation, and that the FDA told him he needed to file and get approval for an Investigational New Drug (IND) application, but Hanley did not agree that he needed FDA approval and proceeded without it. Hanley later co-authored a 2019 paper on Self-Experimentation, ethics and law with George Church, which bears out his position regarding the necessity for an IND. He did not perform any animal tests before testing the plasmid on himself, but won

institutional review board An institutional review board (IRB), also known as an independent ethics committee (IEC), ethical review board (ERB), or research ethics board (REB), is a committee that applies research ethics by reviewing the methods proposed for research to ...

(IRB) approval regardless on his proposed clinical research plans. A physician assisted in administration of the plasmid to Hanley's thigh using

electroporation Electroporation, or electropermeabilization, is a microbiology technique in which an electrical field is applied to cells in order to increase the permeability of the cell membrane, allowing chemicals, drugs, electrode arrays or DNA to be introdu ...

. The plasmids were administered twice: once in summer 2015 and a second larger dose in July 2016. Hanley claims the treatment has helped him. He reported that his white blood cell count and testosterone increased and his LDL levels dropped. A researcher at George Church’s

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

laboratory observed the experiment and Hanley’s blood was then studied^, The scientific results were published in December 2021, coauthored with George Church.

Transgender research

Hanley published an article in 2011 providing a biological explanation for

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

identity and

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...

Selected publications

* * * * * Brian P Hanley (2014) Radiation – Exposure and its treatment: A modern handbook * *

References

External links