He is also the same aide that Fauci sent panicked emails – obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request – to about the gain of function research occurring in Wuhan in the early days of the pandemic. In a recent deposition, Fauci also identified Auchincloss as responsible for reversing a ban on federal funds supporting gain of function research in the case of Ralph Baric – who shared his deadly research tactics with scientists in Wuhan.

During his tenure, he appeared to serve as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) point person spearheading the agency's collaborative research with efforts, including leading a delegation to China in 2011 to sign a memorandum of understanding with a military-link Chinese entity known as the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC).