Now, the neuroscientist in charge of the research, Zilong Qiu, is facing questions following his decision to not publicly disclose the death. The girl’s family reportedly paid over $800,000 to help fund the trial, which was intended to test out a treatment for her rare genetic condition. To ensure the therapy would edit enough cells, Qiu and his team injected hundreds of trillions of viruses into Mei’s spinal fluid. Her death is believed to have been caused by a severe immune reaction to the therapy, according to the Science/Retraction Watch report. And though the hospital where the procedure took place was fined a meager amount ($3,600) by the local health department for failing to properly oversee the trial, Qiu seemingly faced no repercussions.