In a 2012 commentary published by a journal of the American Society for Microbiology, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci wrote that "the voluntary moratorium on gain-of-function research related to the transmissibility of highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza virus should continue" until certain conditions are met, but "scientists working in this field might say - as indeed I have said - that the benefits of such experiments and the resulting knowledge outweigh the risks. It is more likely that a pandemic would occur in nature, and the need to stay ahead of such a threat is a primary reason for performing an experiment that might appear to be risky." Fauci is currently the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical adviser to President Biden.