This week covers a wide range of topics, including chemical weapons, indictments for those involved in running the illegal laboratory in Reedley, CA, and more. Several new publications follow, as well new upcoming events and newly-available resources in the announcement section.
George Mason University’s Biomedical Laboratory Receives $12 Million in Funding from NIH
From GMU: “Farhang Alem, Interim Director of the Biomedical Research Laboratory, Institute for Biohealth Innovation, and Aarthi Narayanan, Professor, Biology, will receive more than $12 million from the National Institute for Health to support development of Mason’s Biomedical Research Laboratory, advancing the university’s research capabilities for infectious diseases.”
“George Mason University’s Biomedical Laboratory (BRL) is one of 12 Regional Biocontainment Laboratories (RBLs) established through the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The BRL offers Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) facilities that conduct cutting edge pathogen research and serve as resources to rapidly address emerging infectious disease outbreaks.”
“Funding will support a number of facility improvements including the implementation of a comprehensive BSL-3 facilities preventative maintenance and upgrade plan to ensure continuity of operations, compliance with federal regulations, and a safe and secure facility. Funding will also enhance safety and quality of BSL-3 laboratory practices and create two new research cores in high containment.”
Read more here.
DOD Chemical and Biological Defense Program Celebrates 30th Anniversary
The Department of Defense recently reached the 30-year anniversary of the formation of its Chemical and Biological Defense Program. “Congress created the DOD wide chemical and biological defense program in November 1993, after a government report noted U.S. forces were not sufficiently prepared to address Iraq’s chemical and biological warfare capabilities…Prior to the creation of the program under the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the military services were each responsible for developing their own chemical and biological defense capabilities.”
Read more about the program here.
OPCW Adopts Measures Aimed at Ensuring Compliance with CW Ban in Syria and Elsewhere
The OPCW announced the adoption of new measures aimed at addressing non-compliance with the CWC yesterday, the Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare. In a statement, the OPCW explained: “The Twenty-Eighth Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) today adopted a decision titled “Addressing the Threat from Chemical Weapons Use and the Threat of Future Use”, brought forward by 48 countries.”
“The Conference decided that the continued possession and use of chemical weapons by the Syrian Arab Republic, and its failures to submit an accurate and complete declaration and to destroy all its undeclared chemical weapons and production facilities, have caused serious damage to the object and purpose of the Chemical Weapons Convention.”
“In adopting the decision, States Parties condemned “in the strongest possible terms the use of chemical weapons by anyone, under any circumstances, emphasising that any use of chemical weapons anywhere, at any time, by anyone, and under any circumstances is unacceptable and contravenes international norms and standards”. States Parties reaffirmed their determination to continue to take action to address threats related to chemical weapons in Syria and elsewhere.”
“Today’s decision seeks to implement for the first time Paragraph 3 of Article XII of the Convention, which refers to measures States Parties can take in order to ensure compliance.”
Read more here.
Syrian Network for Human Rights Statement On the Day of Remembrance For All Victims of Chemical Warfare
The Syrian Network for Human Rights released its statement yesterday on the Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare, highlighting CW attacks perpetrated by the Assad regime and the ongoing struggle for victims to hold the regime accountable. The statement is available below.
2023 OPCW-The Hague Award Recipients Announced
OPCW Director-General Amb. Fernando Arias and the Mayor of the Municipality of The Hague, Mr. Jan van Zanen, announced last week the three recipients of the 2023 OPCW-The Hague Award. These recipients are the Spiez Laboratory in Switzerland, Dr. Syeda Sultana Razia at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, and Mr. Hubert K. Foy at the African Centre for Science and International Security in Ghana.
‘“All three of these recipients have demonstrated that everyone has a role to play in ridding the world of chemical weapons and preventing their re-emergence,” said OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Fernando Arias. “We must together strive to continue to ensure that toxic chemicals are never used as instruments of harm and that our populations are protected.”’
Read more about the recipients and their work here.
NTI, NextGen, iGEM, SynBio Africa, GHSN, and 80,000 Hours Announce Winners of 7th Annual Next Generation for Biosecurity Competition
The winners of the Seventh Annual Next Generation for Biosecurity Competition were recently announced. They are Gupreet Dhaliwal, Ph.D. candidate in Synthetic Biology and Immunology at the University of Cambridge, Askar Kleefeldt, Ph.D. candidate in Synthetic Biology at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology and the University of Cambridge, and Alexandra Klein, Ph.D. candidate in Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy at the University College London and research assistant at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, University of Cambridge.
“In their winning paper, Biosecurity-By-Design to Safeguard Emerging Bioeconomies: Integrating Biosecurity Considerations into the Full Biotechnology Innovation and Development Pipeline, the team proposes a ‘biosecurity-by-design’ approach to ensure that biosecurity is integrated into every stage of the life science research and development pipeline, especially project conceptualization. The three authors outline a set of recommendations to achieve this goal, including fostering a culture of responsibility among scientific communities through the adoption of the Tianjin Biosecurity Guidelines for Codes of Conduct for Scientists as a global standard in emerging bioeconomies. The authors emphasize the importance of engaging with the private sector and encourage governments to incentivize biosecurity in product design by using levers such as market access regulations or reputational rewards through seals of approval. The authors also propose that States Parties at the Biological Weapons Convention adopt a systematic review mechanism for science and technology to raise awareness of emerging biotechnology risks. Overall, these recommendations aim to make biosecurity an integral part of biotechnology innovation while allowing the bioeconomy to flourish.”
Read more here.
No Cost COVID-19 Tests Available in United States Again
The US Government is once more offering four at-home viral tests delivered via the US Postal Service. Those who did not order any in September can order up to eight of them during this round. Order tests at COVIDtests.gov.
ICYMI: Select Committee on the CCP Releases Report on Reedley Lab, DOJ Announces Indictment of Operator
Last month “Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party unveiled a report on its investigation into the illegal People’s Republic of China-tied biolab discovered in Reedley, CA. The members were joined by Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA), whose district includes Reedley, CA, Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA), and Rep. Neal Dunn (R-FL).”
According to the report, the Committee’s main findings were:
- “The illegal biolab was run by a PRC citizen who is a wanted fugitive from Canada with a $330 million Canadian dollar judgment against him for stealing American intellectual property.
- This PRC citizen was a top official at a PRC-state-controlled company and had links to military-civil fusion entities.
- The illegal biolab received millions of dollars in unexplained payments from PRC banks while running the illegal biolab.
- The illegal biolab contained thousands of samples of labeled, unlabeled, and encoded potential pathogens, including HIV, malaria, tuberculosis, and Covid.
- The illegal biolab also contained a freezer labeled “Ebola,” which contained unlabeled, sealed silver bags consistent with how the lab stored high risk biological materials. Ebola is a Select Agent with a lethality rate between 25-90%.
- The biolab contained nearly a thousand transgenic mice, genetically engineered to mimic the human immune system. Lab workers said that the mice were designed “to catch and carry the COVID-19 virus.”
- After local officials who discovered the lab sought help from the CDC and others, the CDC refused to test any of the samples.”
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice announced a three-count indictment against operators of the lab, saying in a press statement “A federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment today against Jia Bei Zhu, aka Jesse Zhu, Qiang He, and David He, 62, a citizen of China who formerly resided in Clovis, charging him with distributing adulterated and misbranded medical devices in violation of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and for making false statements to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.”
“According to court documents, between January 2020 and March 2023, through the companies Universal Meditech Incorporated (UMI) and Prestige Biotech Incorporated (PBI), Zhu sold hundreds of thousands of COVID-19 test kits to companies throughout the United States. UMI and PBI were based in Fresno and Reedley and did not obtain pre-market approval, pre-market clearance, emergency use authorization, or other applicable exemption from the FDA as was required. UMI and PBI received millions of dollars for the sales of the test kits.”
“When questioned by FDA officials, Zhu made several false statements to them, including that (1) his name was Qiang “David” He, (2) he was hired by UMI as a COVID-19 consultant in 2021, (3) he was hired by PBI just a couple of weeks prior to meeting with the FDA to communicate with government agencies on PBI’s behalf, and (4) he did not know anything about the manufacturing or distribution histories for UMI or PBI.”
“This case is the product of an investigation by the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the California Department of Public Health – Food and Drug Branch. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph D. Barton, Arelis M. Clemente, and Henry Z. Carbajal III are prosecuting this case.”
“Why AI-Assisted Bioterrorism Became a Top Concern for Open AI and Anthropic”
Louise Matsakis covers the now constant concern about the potential for AI to aid in bioterrorism, explaining in her introduction “In the spring of 1995, U.S. lawmakers were becoming concerned that material uploaded to the nascent internet might pose a threat to national security. The Oklahoma City bombing had happened several weeks earlier, drawing attention to publications circulating online like The Big Book of Mischief, which included instructions on how to build homemade explosives.”
“Worried the information could be used to orchestrate another attack, then-Senator Dianne Feinstein pushed to make publishing bomb recipes on the internet illegal. The effort sparked a national debate about “Open Access vs. Censorship,” as one newspaper headline put it at the time.”
“Nearly 30 years later, a similar debate is now unfolding about artificial intelligence. Rather than DIY explosives, some U.S. officials and leading AI companies say they are increasingly worried that large language models could be used to develop biological weapons. The possibility has been repeatedly cited as one reason to be cautious about making AI systems open source.”
Matsakis interviewed George Mason’s Sonia Ben Ouagrham-Gormley as well in writing this piece, writing ‘“With new technologies, we tend to project in the future as though their development was linear and straightforward, and we never take into consideration the challenges and the contingencies of the people using them,” said Sonia Ben Ouagrham-Gormley, an associate professor at George Mason University who has interviewed former scientists in both the U.S. and Soviet Union’s now-defunct biological weapons programs.”
And later: “Ben Ouagrham-Gormley said her research has shown that achieving each of these steps requires employing different, highly-trained experts, including people who specialize in the exact type of pathogen being used. An AI model might be able to replace some of their work in the future, but she argued it can’t replicate the hands-on wisdom that comes from working in a laboratory.”
‘“This kind of tacit knowledge exists everywhere, but in the bio field, it’s really important because of the fragility of the raw material,” Ben Ouagrham-Gormley said.”
“Artificial Intelligence and Synthetic Biology Are Not Harbingers of Doom”
David Bray provides an optimistic outlook on the potential of AI and synthetic biology in this policy memo for the Stimson Center. Bray writes, “Contrary to many people’s fears, artificial intelligence (AI) can be a positive force in advancing biological research and biotechnology. The assumption that AI will super-empower the risks that already exist for the misuse of biotech to develop and spread pathogens and fuel bioterrorism misses three key points. First, the data must be out there for either an AI or a human to use it. Second, governments stop bad actors from using bio for nefarious purposes by focusing on the actors’ precursor behaviors. Third, given how wrong large language models (LLMs) often are and their risk of hallucinations, any would-be AI intended to provide advice on biotech will have to be checked by a human expert. In contrast, AI can be a positive force in advancing biological research and biotechnology — and insights from biology can power the next wave of AI for the benefit of humankind. Private and public-sector leaders need to make near-term decisions and actions to lay the foundation for maximizing the benefits of AI and biotech. National and international attention should focus on both new, collective approaches to data curation and ensuring the right training approaches for AI models of biological systems.”
“Going Viral: Bioeconomy Defense”
This report from Johns Hopkins’ Applied Physics Lab summarizes the findings of a May tabletop exercise:
“The May tabletop exercise at APL revealed four key areas of action to ensure a safe and secure bioeconomy.
Trust in lab equipment performance and data is foundational to the bioeconomy. Recommendations include developing digital security standards for lab equipment, hardening waypoints at each step in the data life cycle, and introducing a system of tiered levels of compliance.
Awareness of vulnerabilities, cyber and physical, and the steps for prevention and intervention are needed. Recommendations include additional exercises to strengthen intra-agency coordination and training and extending this activity to private sector companies.
Responsibility for responding to threats in the bioeconomy, and the roles for each team member, need to be defined with a process workflow, using a shared responsibility model, and teams need regular training opportunities to practice.
Preparedness is lacking, and threat-mitigation strategies specific to the bioeconomy need to be identified, tested and distributed. The exercise pushed the limits of participants’ traditional threat-mitigation strategies and identified the need for assessments of critical infrastructure and functions, cross-domain training, and the establishment of policies and procedures for an inter-agency group to rapidly respond to threats.”
“Security Considerations At the Intersection of Engineering Biology and Artificial Intelligence”
New from the Engineering Biology Research Consortium: “This white paper describes three areas at the intersection of engineering biology and artificial intelligence that may yield significant security concerns: de novo biological design, closed-loop autonomous laboratories, and natural language Large Language Models. It describes each area, identifies potential security concerns, and offers ideas for the potential mitigation of those concerns, ultimately calling for an international forum to continually address this evolving issue.”
“Pascale Ferrier and the Threat of Bioterror”
Markus K. Binder recently published this piece in NCT’s CBNW: “Drawing upon the START CBRN Data Suite and other research, Markus Binder considers the five ricin bio-attacks directed at the U.S. President and other officials that have taken place since 2013 to assess what, if anything, they can tell us about bioterrorism.”
“Americans’ Trust in Scientists, Positive Views of Science Continue to Decline”
New work from the Pew Research Center has found that “…the share of Americans who say science has had a mostly positive effect on society has fallen and there’s been a continued decline in public trust in scientists.”
“Overall, 57% of Americans say science has had a mostly positive effect on society. This share is down 8 percentage points since November 2021 and down 16 points since before the start of the coronavirus outbreak.”
“About a third (34%) now say the impact of science on society has been equally positive as negative. A small share (8%) think science has had a mostly negative impact on society.”
Read the report here.
“A Systematic Review Of COVID-19 Misinformation Interventions: Lessons Learned”
Smith et al. recently published this article with Health Affairs: “Governments, public health authorities, and social media platforms have employed various measures to counter misinformation that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. The effectiveness of those misinformation interventions is poorly understood. We analyzed fifty papers published between January 1, 2020, and February 24, 2023, to understand which interventions, if any, were helpful in mitigating COVID-19 misinformation. We found evidence supporting accuracy prompts, debunks, media literacy tips, warning labels, and overlays in mitigating either the spread of or belief in COVID-19 misinformation. However, by mapping the different characteristics of each study, we found levels of variation that weaken the current evidence base. For example, only 18 percent of studies included public health–related measures, such as intent to vaccinate, and the misinformation that interventions were tested against ranged considerably from conspiracy theories (vaccines include microchips) to unproven claims (gargling with saltwater prevents COVID-19). To more clearly discern the impact of various interventions and make evidence actionable for public health, the field urgently needs to include more public health experts in intervention design and to develop a health misinformation typology; agreed-upon outcome measures; and more global, more longitudinal, more video-based, and more platform-diverse studies.”
“Coffee As a Dietary Strategy to Prevent SARS-CoV-2 Infection”
Wu et al.‘s recent article in Cell & Bioscience offers further validation for coffee drinkers (as if we needed it): “Background: To date, most countries lifted the restriction requirement and coexisted with SARS-CoV-2. Thus, dietary behavior for preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection becomes an interesting issue on a daily basis. Coffee consumption is connected with reduced COVID-19 risk and correlated to COVID-19 severity. However, the mechanisms of coffee for the reduction of COVID-19 risk are still unclear.”
“Results: Here, we identified that coffee can inhibit multiple variants of the SARS-CoV-2 infection by restraining the binding of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), and reducing transmembrane serine protease 2 (TMPRSS2) and cathepsin L (CTSL) activity. Then, we used the method of “Here” (HRMS-exploring-recombination-examining) and found that isochlorogenic acid A, B, and C of coffee ingredients showed their potential to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection (inhibitory efficiency 43–54%). In addition, decaffeinated coffee still preserves inhibitory activity against SARS-CoV-2. Finally, in a human trial of 64 subjects, we identified that coffee consumption (approximately 1–2 cups/day) is sufficient to inhibit infection of multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2 entry, suggesting coffee could be a dietary strategy to prevent SARS-CoV2 infection.”
“Conclusions: This study verified moderate coffee consumption, including decaffeination, can provide a new guideline for the prevention of SARS-CoV-2. Based on the results, we also suggest a coffee-drinking plan for people to prevent infection in the post-COVID-19 era.”
“WHO: ‘Collective Action’ Needed to Effectively Reduce Antimicrobial Resistance”
CIDRAP’s Chris Dall covers WHO officials’ answers to questions about AMR in this piece written in recognition of World AMR Awareness Week. Dall explains “Encouraging the medical community, world leaders, and other stakeholders to do their part in staving off that grim future is one of the goals of World AMR Awareness Week, a global campaign of the World Health Organization (WHO) this week aimed at raising public awareness and promoting practices that help mitigate the threat posed by drug-resistant infections…CIDRAP News recently submitted a series of questions to WHO officials about the themes of this year’s World AMR Awareness Week, their assessment of the progress that countries have made in addressing AMR, and the challenges that lay ahead. Responses were provided by Sarah Sheppard, the WHO’s communications lead for Medicines, Health Products & AMR.”
“The World’s Chemical-Weapons Stockpiles Are Gone – But a New Challenge Looms”
Peter J. Hotchkiss, science policy adviser to the OPCW’s Scientific Advisory Board, recently published this World View piece with Nature. He explains in part, “In 2019, the OPCW’s 193 member states decided unanimously, for the first time in history, to add compounds to the schedules, the lists of chemicals that are regulated under the convention. The four entries comprise toxic nerve agents with no known civilian use: three cover phosphorus-based agents (in the ‘novichok family’), and the fourth is a family of carbamates, another kind of nerve agent. The convention already prohibited using these (or any chemical) to intentionally kill or harm people through toxicity. Now, their production, transfer and storage are subject to stringent verification by the OPCW, through declarations and on-site inspections.”
“Yet some states have been reticent to share data on these chemicals with the OPCW. The lack of information on the newly scheduled chemicals is in jarring contrast to what we have on other weapons listed in the convention and on their precursors. To ensure the health and safety of staff members during inspections, the OPCW needs the best understanding of these chemicals’ properties, the types of personal protective equipment and medical countermeasures that are effective against them and the analytical methods for detecting them. These data would also help us to provide the best information and training to all member states, ensuring that they are prepared in the event that any of these chemicals are used as a weapon.”
“29 Morally Bankrupt Governments, Headed by Russia, Voted Against the OPCW’s Resolutions”
The Syrian Network for Human Rights recently released this report “…emphasizing that many states worldwide must bring cases against the Syrian regime before the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the regime’s repeated violations of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).”
“In the 15-page report, SNHR notes that the Syrian regime has carried out 184 chemical attacks since ratifying the Convention in September 2013. The report outlines the decisions adopted by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), identifying the states that voted against those decisions, or in other words the states that support the continuation of the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons program. Through this action, it notes, these states are, in effect, encouraging the regime to use weapons of mass destruction – chemical weapons – and emboldening it to carry out more chemical weapons attacks against the Syrian people.”
“Scientific Experts Provide Key Recommendations on Biotoxin Analysis to the OPCW”
“The Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) endorsed a report outlining key recommendations on biotoxin analysis and investigations of their alleged use as weapons submitted by a SAB Temporary Working Group (TWG) earlier this year.”
“Biotoxins are toxic chemicals produced by living organisms, which vary widely in properties such as structure, size, and mechanisms of toxicity. Some biotoxins can be more toxic than traditional nerve agents. There are two biotoxins subject to stringent verification measures under the Chemical Weapons Convention – ricin and saxitoxin – with many others also posing safety and security concerns.”
“The risk of misuse of biotoxins as weapons requires the OPCW to be prepared to conduct various investigations and missions related to their alleged use. To ensure the Organisation’s readiness to do so, the TWG’s report makes critical recommendations to the OPCW…”
Read more here.
“2023 Catalogue of Civil Society Activities Supporting the Chemical Weapons Convention”
The Stimson Center recently released its 2023 Catalogue of Civil Society Activities Supporting the Chemical Weapons Convention, “a catalogue of civil society capacity-building, assistance, and/or research programs supporting the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). The catalogue highlights all interested parties, including the CWC States Parties, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction, international organizations, and industry stakeholders, civil society’s contributions to strengthen reducing the threat of chemical weapons and promoting the peaceful use of chemistry. By providing a uniform product, interested parties will be able to easily identify programs, experts, and organizations that support the CWC and related chemical weapons nonproliferation instruments.”
“Emerging and Re-Emerging Chemical Threats (Part 2)”
MRIGlobal continues their discussion of CW threats with “Chemical Threats on the Battlefield and Home Front” in this blog post, explaining in part “Today’s conflicts around the world highlight the current and pressing need for continued research to help ensure the safety of anyone in danger. And though we touched on “Emerging and Re-emerging Chemical Threats” earlier in the year, because emerging and re-emerging chemical threats pose an ever-present challenge to both warfighters and civilians, we are revisiting the topic to share additional expertise. To learn more, we visited with Cristina Youngren and Evan Durnal, subject matter experts in MRIGlobal’s Integrated Defense Solutions division.”
“What Does a French Arrest Warrant Mean for Normalization With Assad?”
Julia Neumann discusses what France’s arrest warrants for Bashar al-Assad and several associates mean in practice and for regional normalization in this piece for Syria Direct.
“Why Cheap Drones Pose a Significant Chemical Terrorism Threat”
Zachary Kallenborn recently published this piece with The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, writing in part “Relatively cheap drones are becoming a mainstay of conflicts, from the war in Ukraine to the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza. Though drones were once the purview of rich and powerful militaries, it’s now possible to use cheap consumer drones in battle. With a few tweaks, they can whistle past even sophisticated air defenses. As Al-Bared’s case highlights, they may also present a significant chemical terrorism threat. Drones can be equipped with sprayers to deliver chemical weapons, or they could be used in an attack on a chemical plant. They could also provide critical attack support, helping with reconnaissance to plan out and conduct an attack, monitor law enforcement response, and create propaganda to highlight terrorist activities.”
“Stanford Emerging Technology Review: Reporting on Key Technology Areas and Their Policy Implications”
“Emerging technologies are transforming societies, economies, and geopolitics. This moment brings unparalleled promise and novel risks. In every era, technological advances buoy nations that develop and scale them—helping to save lives, win wars, foster greater prosperity, and advance the human condition. At the same time, history is filled with examples where slow-moving governments stifled innovation in ways policymakers never intended, and nefarious actors used technological advances in ways that inventors never imagined. Technology is a tool. It is not inherently good or bad. But its use can amplify human talent or degrade it, uplift societies or repress them, solve vexing challenges or exacerbate them. These effects are sometimes deliberate but often accidental.”
“The stakes of technological developments today are especially high. Artificial intelligence (AI) is already revolutionizing industries, from music to medicine to the military, and its impact has been likened to the invention of electricity. Yet AI is just one among many technologies that are ushering in profound change. Fields like synthetic biology, materials science, and neuroscience hold potential to vastly improve health care, environmental sustainability, economic growth, and more. We have experienced moments of major technological change before. But we have never experienced the convergence of so many technologies with the potential to change so much, so fast.”
“The Stanford Emerging Technology Review (SETR) is the first product of a major new Stanford technology education initiative for policymakers. Our goal is to help both the public and private sectors better understand the technologies poised to transform our world so that the United States can seize opportunities, mitigate risks, and ensure that the American innovation ecosystem continues to thrive.”
ICYMI: FBI Director Statement Before the House Committee on Homeland Security
FBI Director Christopher Wray delivered this statement to the House Committee on Homeland Security last month, highlighting the work of his agency across several mission areas, including emerging technologies and counter WMD. Wray explained in part of this statement that, “In addition to fighting terrorism, countering the proliferation of weapons-of-mass-destruction materials, technologies, and expertise, preventing their use by any actor, and securing nuclear and radioactive materials of concern are also top national security priority missions for the FBI. The FBI considers preventing, mitigating, investigating, and responding to weapons of mass destruction (“WMD”) terrorism a “no-fail” mission because a WMD attack could result in substantial injuries, illness, or loss of lives, while yielding significant social, economic, political, and other national security consequences. In collaboration with federal, state, local, tribal, territorial, and other partners, the FBI integrates complementary efforts to counter WMD terrorism. An example of this collaboration is the FBI-led Weapons of Mass Destruction Strategic Group. This interagency crisis action team spans more than 15 departments and agencies to coordinate the federal government’s response to WMD threats and incidents. Alongside the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security maintains the largest footprint on the strategic group.”
Read the full statement here.
NEW: Looking Ahead in Ukraine: What Could Increase the Risk of Escalation?
“As U.S. lawmakers debate the question of continued defense and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, the Ukrainian fight to expel Russian invaders continues with no end in sight. The stalemate on the front lines in Ukraine masks continued intense fighting and demands for resources on both sides that may drive longer-term changes—on the battlefield, inside Russia, and beyond. This could lead to further escalation, including the potential to turn the conflict into a wider war. Understanding which circumstances and policies may risk escalation in Ukraine is paramount: not only are decisions about supporting Ukraine critical to the long-term trajectory of the conflict but also the United States confronts a broad set of challenges across the globe.”
“Please join RAND’s National Security Research Division on Tuesday, December 5, 2023, 9:30 – 11:00 am ET, for a moderated panel discussion about which circumstances or policies may risk escalation in Ukraine—either deliberate or inadvertent—and the potential triggers and restraining factors likely to shape Russian escalation decisions in particular.”
“Missy Ryan, a national security reporter at the Washington Post, will moderate the discussion.”
Learn more and register here.
NEW: Threat Agnostic Biodefense Webinar: Assessing the Zoonotic Risk of Pre-Emergent Viruses
From PNNL: “Exploration of the “virosphere” is in its golden age. The sheer number of new viruses discovered daily, and the fact that most cannot be cultured, creates enormous uncertainty about where to allocate attention and resources. It is not an intractable problem, however, to distinguish those few viruses that are likely to emerge as zoonoses from the many others that are not. This talk describes two diametric approaches to addressing this problem. The first approach involves a field-to-lab investigative methodology that, when combine with biologically informed predictive computational models, can assess the zoonotic risk of viruses that have not yet been identified in humans. The second approach relies on the power of modern methods in anthropology and ethnography to identify zoonotic transmission pathways, even before the identification of any pathogens that might traverse those pathways. A unifying example is simian hemorrhagic fever virus and its relatives in the family Arteriviridae, which cause important animal diseases but have never been documented to infect humans. Both approaches identify these viruses as high-risk pre-emergent zoonoses.”
Learn more and register for this December 6 event here.
NEW: Bio & Beer
“As a rising global leader in the bioeconomy, investments in the future STEM workforce are critical in order to secure the U.S.’s position as a world resource for biohealth technology and innovations. Join us and our three guest speakers as we discuss the importance of a diverse, skilled STEM workforce to address rapidly increasing industry demand. We will also talk about training and other opportunities designed to prepare individuals for STEM careers. Enjoy an evening of networking, drinks, and fun!”
Learn more and RSVP here.
Meeting the Moment: Biodefense Policy, Procurement, and Public Health
From the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense: “As the Nation continues to endure the consequences of recent pandemics, and with continued interest in biological weapons by nation states and other enemies, the federal government has an opportunity to address vulnerabilities in the biodefense enterprise. At this meeting, titled Meeting the Moment: Biodefense Policy, Procurement, and Public Health, the Commission intends to further explore : (1) biodefense policies and activities at the Department of Defense; (2) federal stockpile evaluation and decision-making for smallpox medical countermeasures; (3) needed authorities of the Department of Health and Human Services, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and (4) biodefense leadership.”
This meeting will take place on December 5, from 10:30 am until 4 pm ET. 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 managers, 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.
Mitigating Arboviral Threats and Strengthening Public Health Preparedness
“Arboviruses are a broad group of viruses that are spread by arthropods, such as ticks and mosquitoes. Diseases caused by arboviruses, like dengue, chikungunya, Zika, and yellow fever, present a significant public health burden and threaten billions of people worldwide. Despite the global recognition of the devastating health and economic impacts of these diseases, the need persists for improved integration of mitigation efforts into public health systems and environmental and urban planning.”
“The National Academies Forum on Microbial Threats will conduct a two-day workshop that will identify lessons learned from previous outbreaks, outline current arbovirus surveillance capacities, and describe novel approaches to arbovirus mitigation. The workshop will include perspectives from researchers, public health practitioners, and environmental management experts from across the globe.”
This event will take place on December 12 and 13. Learn more here.
Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria (PACCARB) Virtual Meeting
“The Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria (PACCARB) provides advice, information, and recommendations to the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS Secretary). The council supports and evaluates U.S. government activities focused on fighting antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in human health, animal health, and environmental health. Using this One Health approach, members of the PACCARB have expertise from a range of backgrounds, including academia, industry, public health, advocacy, veterinary, and agricultural production.”
“The PACCARB was established under Executive Order 13676 and included in the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act of 2019 (PAHPAIA). Since 2019, the President has given authority to the HHS Secretary as the primary recipient of PACCARB recommendations. Additional information on the authority and activities of the PACCARB can be found on the About Us page in the charter.”
“As a federal advisory committee, the PACCARB looks to engage with the public and all AMR stakeholders. The council holds several public meetings every year both in-person and live streamed on the HHS.gov website. These meetings are open to anyone with an interest in combating AMR. See how to get involved!”
This virtual meeting will take place on December 20 from 9-4 EST. Learn more 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.
International Conference, CBRNE Research & Innovation
“The last 40 years have demonstrated that both military and civilian populations could be exposed to highly hazardous CBRNE agents following conflicts, natural outbreaks and disasters, industrial incidents or terrorist attacks.”
“Worldwide, researchers, responders and industrial capacities have been commited to provide adapted response to these challenges.”
“Building on the success of the first 5 International Conferences « CBRNE Research and Innovation » which took place in Antibes (2015), Lyon (2017), Nantes (2019), on line (2021) and Lille (2022), we want to give you a new opportunity to build up or strengthen collaborative networks in Strabourg (March 19th – 21rst 2024).”
“The CBRNE R&I Conference is specifically devoted to scientific updates, responders’ feedbacks and expression of needs. It also includes workshops and demonstrations of innovative materials, technologies and procedures, according to the following themes: DETECTION – IDENTIFICATION, PROTECTION – DECONTAMINATION, MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES, RISKS & CRISIS MANAGEMENT.”
“Looking forward to your proposals for communication and to welcoming you at Strasbourg in March 2024!”
Learn more 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.”
Council on Strategic Risks Launches the Nuclear Weapon Systems Project
“How states view the roles and relevance of nuclear weapons is changing. While these perspectives have been dynamic since the dawn of the atomic age, the changes occurring today and drivers of these changes are particularly worrisome—in particular given that they seem to be on the cusp of reversing a period heavily characterized by arms control agreements, reductions in global arsenals, and advances in international cooperation to reduce nuclear weapons risks.”
“CSR’s core nuclear policy work to address this challenging time has focused largely on qualitative approaches to reducing the risks of nuclear miscalculations, uses of these weapons, arms racing behavior, and other dangerous trends. Going beyond numbers of weapons—which has been a major policy focus given numerical limitations in past nuclear treaties—a qualitative view of the nuclear weapons landscape is done through the lens of the nuclear capabilities nations seek, and associated policies and postures. This can help to show where multiple nations might find areas for potential cooperation that would be mutually beneficial. It can also help to show where nations currently possess the capabilities they claim to need, and thereby in what ways cooperative or unilateral measures of restraint are the most appropriate.”
“In order to facilitate this work by CSR and by others, we are launching The Nuclear Weapon Systems Project to help visualize how the types of nuclear capabilities fielded in the world have evolved since the advent of these weapons.”
“This project seeks to document and characterize every deployed nuclear weapons system that NPT-recognized nuclear states have developed in history. More than just a list of bombs, missiles, and artillery shells, the resulting dataset illustrates a complex story of risks, strategies, and lessons learned—and lost. We consider this data to be a living resource, and encourage outside contributions and feedback.”
Read more here.
“Georgetown Global Health Center Launches First Open-Access Wildlife Disease Database”
Georgetown University Medical Center’s Center for Global Health Science and Security recently announced “the launch of a first-of-its-kind wildlife disease database — a system for collecting records of viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites, etc. — designed to support an early warning system for potential viral emergence. The Pathogen Harmonized Observatory, or PHAROS, is open to the global community and free to access.”
“Scientists in GHSS’ Verena program, a collaborative institute comprising a global team of scientists, designed PHAROS to advance research and education around viral emergence — the process of viruses jumping from animals to humans. Verena co-founder and director Colin Carlson, PhD, says most platforms designed to track diseases in wild animals are very limited and are developed only in response to a major outbreak, such as birds dying off suddenly due to avian flu.”
‘“Our goal is to build a data sharing system that lets us eventually predict pandemics like the weather,” Carlson says. “When we collect data on wildlife viruses, it gets published in journals and then lost forever, because it isn’t ever standardized or compiled. After COVID, there’s no excuse to keep working that way.”’
Texas A&M Research Assistant Professor (Pandemic Preparedness/Biosecurity) Openings
Texas A&M University’s Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs is seeking up to two Research Assistant Professors with expertise in pandemic preparedness and/or biosecurity. The Research Assistant Professor will be in the Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs, Bush School of Government & Public Service, and will work with the Pandemic Preparedness & Biosecurity Policy Program. Responsibilities include teaching graduate courses, conducting research, and writing policy-relevant publications on biosecurity, global health security, bio and agro-defense, federal life sciences policy, one health, biotechnology, or related policy topics.
Learn more and apply here.
The Pandora Report 