This week’s Pandora Report brings several new publications covering a range of topics as well as new upcoming events, professional opportunities, and deets on an upcoming chance to learn more about the Schar School’s PhD programs, including the Biodefense PhD Program.
Join Us on October 16 for a Virtual Schar School PhD Information Session
“Prospective international students are invited to attend a virtual information session to learn more about the admission requirements for our PhD programs that are unique to you. This session will be led by Katy Sombito, PhD Admissions Coordinator. Join us to learn more about the admission process for international students and get your questions answered.”
This includes the Schar School’s unique Biodefense PhD program!
Register here for this virtual information session taking place on October 16 at 10 am EDT.
Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman Awarded Nobel Prize for Work Enabling mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Development
This year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded jointly to Katalin Karikó, a biochemist, and Drew Weissman, an immunologist, for their discoveries that later enabled the development of mRNA vaccines for COVID-19.
A Nature News article about the announcement explained, “Karikó, who is at Szeged University in Hungary, and Weissman, at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia (UPenn), paved the way for the vaccines’ development by finding a way to deliver genetic material called messenger RNA into cells without triggering an unwanted immune response.”
The same article explained that “Karikó is the 13th female scientist to win a Nobel Prize in medicine or physiology (see ‘Nobel imbalance’). She was born in Hungary, and moved to the United States in the 1980s. “Hopefully, this prize will inspire women and immigrants and all of the young ones to persevere and be resilient. That’s what I hope,” she tells Nature.”
October is Biosafety and Biosecurity Month!
October is the Association for Biosafety and Biosecurity’s Biosafety and Biosecurity Month!
In a post shared to the organization’s website, ABSA said “Rather than a theme for 2023, we like to bring Biosafety and Biosecurity Month back to the core components of ethical research, transparency, training, engagement, and stewardship of biosafety and biosecurity.”
“Use this month to shine the spotlight on training ideas, stewardship and engagement, how to foster positive relationships with the research community, or supporting responsible and ethical research through our profession.”
“2023 Was the Year the US Finally Destroyed All of Its Chemical Weapons”
Jen Kirby covers the destruction of the United States’ CW stockpile in this Vox piece that features quotes from the Schar School Biodefense Program’s Sonia Ben Ouagrham-Gormley. Kirby writes in part, “The US had some 30,000 tons of chemical warfare agents at the time of the CWC ratification. The US learned quickly that agreeing to eliminate chemical weapons was one thing. Actually doing so was far more complex. “These are weapons that were built to be used, not destroyed,” said Sonia Ben Ouagrham-Gormley, an expert in weapons programs and an associate professor at George Mason University.”
“Beyond Gain of Function: Strengthening Oversight of Research with Potential Pandemic Pathogens”
Biodefense Graduate Program Director, Gregory Koblentz, recently published this article-co-authored with Rocco Casagrande-in Pathogens and Global Health: “In 2017, the Department of Health and Human Services adopted a policy, known as the P3CO Framework, to govern proposed research that could enhance the lethality or transmissibility of a potential pandemic pathogen. The prospect of a human-made virus with artificially enhanced lethality and transmissibility has raised serious biosafety and biosecurity concerns. The COVID-19 pandemic has generated new concerns about the risks posed by such research. Even if the origins of the pandemic are presumed or proven to be the result of a natural zoonotic spillover event, the pandemic has placed greater scrutiny on research that could generate pandemic-capable viruses and dramatically illustrated the consequences if such a virus were released from a laboratory. This article assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the P3CO Framework and provides recommendations for strengthening oversight of research with potential pandemic pathogens. The P3CO Framework should be replaced by a national policy that would apply to all relevant research, regardless of the source of funding and be implemented by a new national agency for biorisk management. This new policy would need to be accompanied by a comprehensive analysis of potential pandemic pathogen risks, clear guidance on how to identify research that falls within the scope of the policy, a rigorous process for reviewing the risks and benefits of such research, and criteria for determining the appropriate measures needed to conduct such research safely, securely, and responsibly.”
“Identifying Outbreak Origins: How the Joint Assessment Mechanism Can Improve Pandemic Response”
From NTI: “NTI is working with international partners to develop a new Joint Assessment Mechanism (JAM) within the office of the UN Secretary-General to rapidly identify outbreak origins. Without the ability to quickly determine the origin of an outbreak, researchers are hampered in their ability to rapidly develop vaccines and other medical countermeasures that can slow the pace of the outbreak, ultimately saving countless lives. Drawing on a fictional scenario used in an NTI and Munich Security Conference tabletop exercise, NTI | bio’s Shayna Korol examines what the JAM would look like in action and describes the impact it could have on international security.”
“Negotiating Global Health Security: Priorities for U.S. and Global Governance of Disease”
From CFR’s Global Health Program: “Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic could revolutionize global health security, but the window for change is closing—quickly. In the latest Council Special Report, Yanzhong Huang and Rebecca Katz outline the urgent reforms that could lead to a safer, healthier world.”
Access this report here.
“Mosquitoes Are a Growing Public Health Threat, Reversing Years of Progress”
Stephanie Nolan covers renewed and growing threats posed by mosquito-borne diseases in this piece for the New York Times, in which she explains “Climate change and the rapid evolution of the insect have helped drive up malaria deaths and brought dengue and other mosquito-borne viruses to places that never had to worry about them.”
“10 Years of the Syria Chemical Weapons Challenge”
Christine Parthemore covers ongoing issues in CWC compliance in Syria in this piece for the Council on Strategic Risks. She explains in her introduction, “In August 2013, the Syrian government used sarin to attack the Ghouta neighborhood of Damascus, killing more than 1,400 people, including women and children. The horrific impact of the attack was viewed all over the world and shortly thereafter Syria agreed in September 2013 to join the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). By the end of the following year, Syria’s declared chemical weapons program had been dismantled. Despite this, more than ten years later, Syria’s compliance with the CWC is marred by continued questions on compliance, as incident after incident have emerged of continued use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government.”
“AQ Khan Redux? The Ongoing Risk of Nuclear Proliferation Networks”
Daniel Salisbury offers at the start of this piece for RUSI “The 20th anniversary of the interdiction of nuclear technology that helped to bring down the AQ Khan nuclear proliferation network provides an opportunity to consider the enduring threat posed by nuclear proliferation networks.”
“Black Swans from Mars?”
Valerie Brown discusses the possibility of NASA and ESA’s studies on Mars inadvertently returning to Earth with something alive in this piece for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. She explains “In the next decade, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) plan to send robots to Mars to retrieve rocks and dust from the red planet for study on Earth. The multibillion-dollar question NASA’s Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission will attempt to answer is one that has intrigued scientists, writers, and the general public for centuries: Has there ever been life on Mars? If there are live organisms in the samples, NASA will be surprised. Several agency officials have suggested that it’s unlikely samples from Mars will contain anything that poses a risk to Earthlings. But one of the primary purposes of the mission is to see if life ever did exist on Mars, and so NASA must prepare for the possibility that something in the samples is … alive. Public interest in that possibility seems likely to become intense.”
“Red Cross Issues Rules of Engagement to War-Focused Hacker Groups, Who Say ‘Why Should I Listen to the Red Cross?'”
Rich Stanton discusses the growing challenges that have arisen as more civilian hackers choose to become involved with cyber attacks targeting states in this piece for PC Gamer. He explains “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has turbo-charged another aspect to this: civilian hacker groups, sometimes called hacktivists, who are able to get involved in a conflict from anywhere. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reckons that this particular conflict has seen unprecedented numbers of civilian hackers get involved and, for the first time, has published rules of engagement for cyber warfare…There are eight rules, including a ban on attacking hospitals, a ban on threatening civilians, and the production of computer viruses that spread uncontrollably…”
NEW: Digital Tools for Disarmament: An Overview of UNIDIR Portals and Databases (Side Event)
“Over the course of the last years, UNIDIR has developed a range of digital tools to support arms control and disarmament processes related to a number of different areas including: cyber security, artificial intelligence, space security and biological disarmament. These tools have provided States and stakeholders with a valuable resource that has helped support policy processes and promote trust, transparency, and cooperation in different areas of technology governance.”
“This event will provide an overview of UNIDIR’s growing collection of digital tools and will be an opportunity to have an interactive discussion around the methods, scope and opportunities presented by these resources.”
This hybrid event will take place on October 18 at 1:15 EDT. Learn more and register here.
NEW: AI for Scientific Discovery – A Workshop
“Join the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine for a workshop on AI for scientific discovery!”
“The goal for this meeting is to explore the future of AI in terms of its role as an autonomous researcher performing scientific discovery. This includes where AI stands, where it needs to go, and which disciplines should have increased investment for the utilization of AI scientists. Workshop sessions will discuss what it means to be an AI scientist, societal aspects of AI, enablers and hurdles to achieve AI independent scientific discovery, and steps in the direction of an AI grand challenge. The workshop will also explore the ethical aspects and potential pitfalls that loom for AI scientists.”
This event will take place October 12-13 in Washington, DC. Learn more and register here.
Advancing One Health in the United States through Interagency Collaboration
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Department of the Interior (DOI) are hosting two informational webinars to brief the public on the recently published Federal Register Notice for the draft National One Health Framework to Address Zoonotic Diseases and Advance Public Health Preparedness in the United States: A Framework for One Health Coordination and Collaboration across Federal Agencies (NOHF-Zoonoses).”
This will include a briefing for state, local, and tribal officials on October 3 at 10 am EST (valid government email address required), as well as public ones on October 13 at 12 pm EST and October 19 at 3 pm EST.
Lessons Learned from the Pediatric Tripledemic: Systems, Staff, Space, and Supplies
“The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange (ASPR TRACIE) and ASPR’s Pediatric Disaster Care Centers of Excellence invite you to “Lessons Learned from the Pediatric Tripledemic: Systems, Staff, Space, and Supplies,” where panelists will share lessons learned from the 2022 2023 pediatric surge due to influenza, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Participants will learn about successes and challenges in information sharing, the use of specialty resources in response (e.g., Medical Operations Coordination Centers), augmenting staff, the use of telemedicine, and coordination with supply chain and coalition partners on medication shortage solutions. These findings can help participants prepare for and respond to future surge events.”
Register here for this event taking place on October 17 at 1 pm EST.
Medical Countermeasures-Expanding Delivery and Increasing Uptake Through Public-Private Partnerships Upcoming Workshop Series
“WORKSHOP SERIES: Medical Countermeasures- Expanding Delivery and Increasing Uptake Through Public-Private Partnerships: A Workshop Series
WHEN: October 3, 12, 17, 26, and November 2, 2023
The National Academies Forum on Medical and Public Health Preparedness for Disasters and Emergencies will host a series of virtual public workshops to examine lessons learned and future opportunities for public-private partnerships to facilitate delivery, monitoring, uptake, and utilization of medical countermeasures to the public during a public health emergency.
The workshop will be accessible via webinar. Learn more on the project page.”
2nd International One Health Conference
“Health is a key aspect of our modern society that requires a multidisciplinary approach and that needs to bring together professionals, academics and decision makers in order to bridge the gap between current scientific knowledge and policies.”
“The Conference aims to activate synergic dialogues among disciplinary research fields and action domains among researchers, experts and students.”
“The One health conceptual framework and the possible contribution from the One Health approach in the urban resilience capacities enhancement will be the core of the congress dialogues.”
“The international One Health Conference 2022 will be in hybrid form from 19 to 20 of October at the Colegio de Medicos in Barcelona.”
Learn more and register here.
2023 EPA International Decontamination Research and Development Conference-“Advancing Preparedness through Science and Collaboration”
“The clean-up of chemical, biological, or radiological (CBR) contamination incidents and natural disasters is a critical challenge for the United States. Understanding how to characterize and remediate affected areas of environmental contamination and waste is necessary for daily life to return.”
“The Decon Conference is designed to facilitate presentation, discussion, and further collaboration of research and development topics focused on an all-hazards approach to remediate contaminated indoor and outdoor areas, critical infrastructure, water distribution systems, and other environmental areas/materials.”
“This conference is free and open to the public. Content and presentations are geared towards the emergency response community, including local and state emergency mangers, homeland security officials, first responder coordinators, private sector industry, risk managers, educators in the field of emergency management, and others.”
This event will take place December 5-7 in Charleston, SC. Learn more and register here.
61st ISODARCO Course: Nuclear Order and International Security after Ukraine
“The war in Ukraine has had an enormous impact on global security, reviving nuclear fears, undermining the prospects for arms control, and shattering many of the norms and constraints that were the foundation of European security. ISODARCO 2024 will examine the global nuclear order in light of the Ukraine war, focusing on the states, the policies and the technologies that will shape the future in a much more difficult environment. How will we cope with this more dangerous world?”
This course will take place January 7-14, 2024, at the University of Trento. Learn more and register here.
Registration for GHS 2024 Now Open
Registration is now open for the Global Health Security 2024 conference in Sydney, Australia. This iteration will take place 18-21 June, 2024. The call for abstracts is also still open. “The mission of the Global Health Security conference is to provide a forum where leaders, researchers, policy-makers, and representatives from government, international organisations, civil society, and private industry from around the world can engage with each other, review the latest research and policy innovations, and agree solutions for making the world safer and healthier. To that end, our mission is to help foster a genuinely multidisciplinary community of practice that is committed to working collaboratively to enhance global health security and eliminate disease, irrespective of its origin or source.”
Call for Experts – One Health High-Level Expert Panel (“OHHLEP”)
“The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), collectively, the Quadripartite collaboration on One Health, are seeking individuals to serve as experts on the One Health High-Level Expert Panel (OHHLEP).”
“Recognizing the complex and interdisciplinary challenges observed at the interface of human, animal and ecosystem health that require enhanced coordination and collaboration among sectors and agencies, nationally and internationally, in a One Health approach, the Quadripartite established the OHHLEP in 2021 to provide them with scientific advice in their support of Governments to implement and scale up the OH approach. The focus of the OHHLEP is set out in its Terms of Reference.”
“The OHHLEP has just completed its first term. Two annual reports detailing its work as well as several other products can be found here . The second term of OHHLEP will aim to provide advisory support to the Quadripartite in the roll out of the One Health Joint Plan of Action , a framework to integrate systems and capacity to collectively better prevent, predict, detect and respond to health threats. OHHLEP support to the Quadripartite will also include the provision of policy relevant scientific assessments on the emergence and spread of health threats arising at the human-animal-ecosystem interface, and defining OH research gaps.”
“The OHHLEP is interdisciplinary, with experts who have a range of technical knowledge, skills and experience relevant to One Health. The working language of OHHLEP is English.”
Learn more and submit expressions of interest here.
Request for Information: ARPA-H Seeks Ideas for ELSI Initiative
“The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) is seeking unique and creative ideas to help the agency develop a well-informed, comprehensive, and actionable Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) of research framework. This framework will help to guide, clarify, justify, and evaluate ARPA-H investments as the agency seeks to support the development of high-impact health solutions. Given that ARPA-H will invest in tools and technologies that push the boundaries of currently available solutions and capabilities, the agency must consider the secondary impacts – both positive and negative – that these advancements may have on individuals and on society. ARPA-H understands that the pace of technological innovation can exceed the pace of regulatory, policy, or framework development, and as such is also seeking revolutionary ideas, technologies, and capabilities for the implementation and incentivization of ELSI activities within the agency’s programs, projects, or as stand-alone efforts. A proactive approach will enable and enhance responsible biomedical and health research innovation and will promote a future that upholds ethical principles, adheres to legal requirements, ensures broad accessibility to all who may benefit, and is cognizant of the potential societal implications.”
Learn more and submit here.
The Pandora Report 