A co-chair of a National Institutes of Health education committee doubles as an advisor to a Chinese Communist Party-linked influence group, The National Pulse can reveal.
Adam Hott, who works on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Sequencing Evidence-Generating Research group, is also affiliated with the United States Heartland China Association (USHCA). He serves on the controversial group’s education committee, which seeks to “brings together resources in K12 and higher education to apply research, expertise, and new entrants to the workforce to US-China collaboration.”
The unearthing of the United States Heartland China Association (USHCA) ties to Chinese foreign influence groups follow reports of Chinese Communist Party members and firms buying up American farmland, raising national security concerns among lawmakers.
In addition to partnering with various branches of the Chinese regime, the USHCA also is “proudly working with” the China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF).
The organization is an integral component of the Chinese Communist Party’s “United Front,” an effort that seeks to “co-opt and neutralize sources of potential opposition to the policies and authority of its ruling Chinese Communist Party” and “influence foreign governments to take actions or adopt positions supportive of Beijing’s preferred policies,” according to the U.S. government.
The USHCA has also co-hosted events alongside the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), regarded as the “public face” of the United Front and an “avowed arm of the party-state.” The U.S. State Department has described the group as seeking to “directly and malignly influence” U.S. state and local leaders.
Despite these concerns, Hott also serves as the co-chair of the Education and Return of Results branch of the NIH’s Clinical Sequencing Evidence-Generating Research group.
Hott has published several journal articles outlining scientific curricula in schools, including papers counting direct financial support from the NIH.
Other papers authored by Hott include “Biotech 101: an educational outreach program in genetics and biotechnology” and “Genetics Content in Introductory Biology Courses for Non-Science Majors: Theory and Practice.”
