Month: May 2012

Obama Nominates Mason Professor for NRC Seat

by spopescu, posted in Program News
We are excited to spread the good word that Professor Allison Macfarlane, professor in Mason’s Environment Science and Policy and a member of the Biodefense faculty, has been nominated by President Obama to head the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the nation’s lead nuclear safety agency.
Known to Biodefense students from her course, BIOD 760 National Security Technology & Policy, Professor Macfarlane recently served as a member of Obama’s Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future. We are excited for her and look forward to hearing some great stories when she returns to Mason down the road.
Read more here

Book Review: The Viral Storm

by spopescu, posted in Reviews

Book Title: The Viral Storm: The Dawn of a New Pandemic Age (Times Books 2011)
Book Author: Nathan Wolfe
Reviewer: Kathleen Danskin, GMU M.S. in Biodefense Program

At first glance, the title of this book may bring to mind alarmist doomsday scenarios of a future filled with unstoppable global pandemics. However, the “new pandemic age” that Nathan Wolfe describes is instead one in which humans can anticipate pandemics and intervene in the early stages to prevent disaster. While the book does rely on a few of the standard ominous vignettes featuring H5N1, SARS, or bioterrorism to create a sense of fear and urgency, the overall message is one of optimism and confidence that these scenarios are not inevitable.

Continue reading “Book Review: The Viral Storm” →

M.S. in Biodefense Project Paper: Predicting BW Proliferation

by spopescu, posted in Research Notes

Project Title: Germ Games (click for pdf)
Author: Lindsay N. Lundberg, GMU M.S. in Biodefense Program

Like the microbes they attempt to harness, state bioweapon (BW) programs are often elusive, miniscule, and shrouded in secrecy. Because BW programs lack the obvious clues of nuclear or even chemical weapons programs, the hunt becomes one for measurable indicators that predict a nation’s likelihood to have or pursue an offensive capability. BW programs are usually highly classified, tightly guarded state secrets, but common indicators should exist even as the line between offensive and defensive capabilities blurs. Using a two-dimensional index, indicators of the capability and motivation of a nation to escalate research into offensive biological weapons will be objectively measured to predict where BW proliferation may occur. Constructed from quantitative and case study analyses, the index ranks contrasting example nations on the ability and predisposition to possess offensive BW capabilities. In the first section of this project, indicators will be derived from past, known state BW programs. Next, the index of capability and motive will be constructed from the indicators. Finally, individual countries will be scored on the index to predict areas of potential proliferation.