Pandora Report 4.11.2025

by dkellogg97, posted in Pandora Report

This week’s Pandora Report includes news from the Schar School, updates on the chaos at the US Department of Health and Human Services, H5N1, and much more.

Biodefense Alum Promoted

Keith Ludwick, Biodefense PhD ’16, was recently promoted to Full Professor at American Military University, where he has taught for seven years.  He is a full-time doctoral faculty in the Doctorate of Strategic Intelligence program, teaching courses on technical policy concerning intelligence, cyber security, and artificial intelligence.  He serves as dissertation chair on numerous doctoral dissertation committees and as second reader for many others, mentoring students with research interests in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, terrorism, and technology policy.  He is a retired Special Agent of the FBI and President/CEO of The Ludwick Agency, a private investigative and security consulting firm specializing in elder financial fraud.  His forthcoming book, Stop Scamming Me:  An Expert’s Guide to Living the Fraud Free Life, will be released in late Spring 2025.

Schar School Highly Rated for Homeland Security Graduate Program

The Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University was recognized by U.S. News and World Report as having the No. 4 graduate program in the country for homeland security in 2025, the eighth year in a row that the program was ranked in the top 10 nationally. This achievement was due in large part to the success of the Biodefense Graduate Program. The program has been active for twenty years and has over 400 alumni working in the public, private, non-profit, and academic sectors in the United States and around the world. The Schar School’s other graduate programs continue to excel as well, with all of its ranked programs placing in the top 50 nationally and the top 25 among public universities. Most notably, the public affairs program rose to No. 1 in Virginia, ranking 36th nationally and 24th among public universities. “Students choose the Schar School the strong depth of our faculty expertise and the opportunity to interact with thought leaders in various fields of policy and government studies,” said Mark Rozell, dean of the Schar School of Policy and Government. “These rankings reflect the rising reputation of the Schar School for high-quality degree programs that prepare students for success.” 

CEPI Launches New Biosecurity Webpage and Resource

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has launched a new webpage dedicated to biosecurity: cepi.net/biosecurity. This platform offers insights into CEPI’s biosecurity efforts, access to the September 2024 CEPI Biosecurity Strategy, and the new CEPI Biosecurity Implementation Plan for 2025–2026 that was just published. The CEPI Biosecurity Implementation Plan outlines 11 objectives categorized by strategic priority and provides details on CEPI’s planned activities, goals, and timelines for the next two years. CEPI has also revised its Third-Party Code, which sets forth principles and requirements for CEPI awardees across a range of areas, to incorporate biosafety and biosecurity.

NSCEB Report: US Close to Falling Behind China in Biotechnology

A recent report from the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB) finds that the US is dangerously close to falling behind China in biotechnology competition. The report further explains that such a change “would signal a global power shift toward China” in addition to calling for an additional $15 billion in new biotechnology funding to counter the PRC’s rise over the next five years, more than $1 billion of which would go to the Department of Defense.

Senator Todd Young, Chair of the NSCEB, said in a press release about the report, “The United States is locked in a competition with China that will define the coming century. Biotechnology is the next phase in that competition. It is no longer constrained to the realm of scientific achievement. It is now an imperative for national security, economic power, and global influence. Biotechnology can ensure our warfighters continue to be the strongest fighting force on tomorrow’s battlefields, and reshore supply chains while revitalizing our manufacturing sector, creating jobs here at home.”

Death by a Thousand Cuts Continues Across HHS

This week at HHS was characterized by the promise of yet more layoffs at NIH, court battles over medical research funding cuts, and even more funding cuts to universities. Also present were more odd claims from HHS Secretary RFK Jr., more critical programs found to be in jeopardy, and more calls for Kennedy’s resignation.

Kennedy Expresses (Limited) Support for Measles Vaccination, Says His Outbreak Response Should be “Model for the World”

A second child was killed by measles in Texas recently, as the outbreak continues to spread. The child was just eight-years-old, and had no underlying health conditions. The Texas Department of Health and Human Services reports that she died from measles pulmonary failure. Cases in Texas have surpassed 500, and New Mexico recently reported that a third county in the state is affected as cases have spread to Oklahoma, Kansas, and Mexico.

Secretary Kennedy, after attending the girl’s funeral, posted on his X account a statement that included, “The most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine.” However, he then followed that with claims that he has met with physicians “who have treated and healed some 300 measles-stricken Mennonite children using aerosolized budesonide and clarithromycin…” along with a photo of himself with the families of the two dead children. While on his trip, he also claimed that his response to the outbreak should be a “model for the world.”

Further Reading:

Kennedy “Champions” Chronic Disease Prevention, Oversees Cuts of Key Research, Claims He is Unfamiliar with Health Program Cuts

Secretary Kennedy has frequently spoken of the “existential threat” of the United States’ chronic disease burden, promising to focus HHS’ efforts on addressing chronic diseases, even going so far as to propose a pause on infectious disease research to do so. It is interesting, then, that since his tenure began in February, he has overseen the elimination of key grants and contracts that directly addressed chronic diseases, including obesity, diabetes, and dementia, which are all among the country’s top health problems. However, Kennedy claims he is unfamiliar with these and other cuts.

In his first network TV interview since taking office, Secretary Kennedy discussed topics ranging from the MMR vaccine to major government funding cuts and healthcare costs with CBS News. When asked by CBS News’ Jon LaPook about massive cuts, including the $11 billion proposed cut to state and local health departments, Kennedy said, “No, I’m not familiar with those cuts. We’d have to go…the cuts were mainly DEI cuts, which the president ordered.”

When shown a $750,000 grant to the University of Michigan focused on adolescent diabetes that was cancelled, Kennedy said “I didn’t know that, and that’s something we’ll look at.” He also added that he could not speak to whether or not this should be considered a “DOGE cut” or not.

Kennedy later said of the Michigan grant, “I just, I’m not familiar with that particular study. But there’s a number of studies that were cut that came to our attention and that did not deserve to be cut, and we reinstated them. Our purpose is not to reduce any level of scientific research that’s important.”

Further Reading:

Kennedy Promises to Find Cause of “Autism Epidemic” by September

Secretary Kennedy claimed in a cabinet meeting at the White House this week that HHS will “know what has caused the autism epidemic” by September. He said in part, “At your direction, we are going to know by September. We’ve launched a massive testing and research effort that’s going to involve hundreds of scientists from around the world. In September, we will know what has caused the autism epidemic and we’ll be able to eliminate those exposures.”

President Trump praised Kennedy for this September goal before speculating that the answer to reducing the number of autism diagnoses could be “you stop taking something, you stop eating something or maybe it’s a shot, but something’s causing it.”

While it is true that estimated autism rates have risen in the last two decades, this is largely attributed to better awareness, a broader definition of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and improved access to healthcare and services, allowing more people to be screened and diagnosed with ASD. Furthermore, it is unclear why Kennedy believes his agency will have an actual answer to this question by September.

Kennedy Blocked from VAERS

Peter Marks, the former head of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, told the AP in an interview this week that, while he agreed to allow RFK Jr. and his team to read reports from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), he refused to allow them to directly edit information in the system. Marks then told AP, “Why wouldn’t we? Because frankly we don’t trust (them),” using profanity “They’d write over it or erase the whole database.” Marks also told the AP that he did seek to work with Kennedy to address his concerns regarding vaccine transparency, but that he found the secretary on wanted “confirmation of his misinformation and lies.”

Further Reading:

APHA Director Calls on Kennedy to Resign

The executive director of the American Public Health Association (APHA), Georges C. Benjamin, issued a statement calling for the resignation of Secretary Kennedy this week. In the statement, titled “Secretary Kennedy and His Policies are a Danger to the Public’s Health,” Benjamin cited several of Kennedy’s actions since taking leadership at HHS, including staff cuts, the ouster of Peter Marks, funding cuts for state and local public health agencies, fatphobic comments the secretary made towards West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey, and more. Benjamin also wrote in part, “Americans deserve better than someone who is trying to impose his unscientific and judgmental view of public health and science. We deserve better than RFK, Jr. He demonstrated his incompetence in only a few weeks.”

Further Reading:

Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at Risk

Axios reported this week that, amidst the upheaval at FDA, the user fee system that funds review of new drugs, devices, and diagnostic tests is now at risk. Drug and device manufacturers spend billions annually in user fees to ensure that their products are evaluated in a timely fashion. However, Secretary Kennedy has described these fees as a sign of what he claims is “coziness” between the FDA and the industries it regulates. As it stands, 83% of the payroll for FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research is covered by these fees, meaning cutting these fees would almost certainly lead to furlough of these staff members. This is especially concerning as job cuts at HHS have already eliminated product review staff, jeopardizing timely conclusions in pending evaluations.

NIH Freezes Additional $250 Million in Federal Research Funding to Columbia

The Trump administration has frozen all NIH funding for research grants at Columbia University, cutting off $250 million to the private institution. This comes after the administration cut $400 million in federal funding to the university last month. However, after Columbia agreed to enact different reforms demanded by the president, it was thought there would be a reprieve. NIH is reportedly both blocking new funding and ceasing payments for work on existing projects. NIH will also require prior approval to access any existing disbursements.

US Foreign Aid Cuts Continue to Devastate

The administration has fired the remaining health officials who oversaw care for more than 500,000 children and 600,000 pregnant women with HIV in low-income countries. These teams managed programs that aimed to prevent newborns from acquiring HIV from their mothers and to provide effective treatment to those who are positive. These teams were eliminated last week. Many of those fired are now awaiting re-assignment to the CDC, according to the State Department and USAID. The programs are still funded by PEPFAR, but their future is uncertain with nobody left to manage them or disburse funds.

Further Reading:

Tariffs Threaten Pharmaceutical Imports, Laboratories

Donald Trump’s tariffs and trade wars are threatening Americans’ access to pharmaceuticals, though the administration has excluded them from retaliatory tariffs for now. According to data collected last year by the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science, generic medications make up 90% of prescriptions in the US, nearly half of which are imported from India. India exports about $9 billion in generic drugs to the US annually. In total, nearly 50% of generic drugs in the US are imported, leaving many concerned about further tariffs from the administration.

Trump’s tariffs are already impacting laboratories as the costs of labware and specialist scientific instruments continue to rise. This is especially troubling given the administration’s unprecedented budget cuts and grants cancellations. Drew Kevorkian, CEO of ARES Scientific which provides research equipment to many university laboratories, told Nature News, “We’re already doing quotes today that are 20% more than they were yesterday…I think almost everybody is going to see a price increase of some sort.”

H5N1 is Claiming Lives

By Meredith Fletcher, Pandora Report Associate Editor

As the Bird Flu continues to devastate the American poultry market, it is causing more devastation overseas, claiming two lives this past month. A 2-year-old girl from India’s Andhra Pradesh state died on March 15. Investigators say that there were no infections amongst her family and no infected poultry outbreaks nearby. The suspected source of infection is the raw meat she ate prior. On April 1, 2025, a 3-year-old girl in Mexico became the country’s first human case, after spending two days in critical condition. Her cause of death is listed as respiratory complications from H5N1. Of her family members, all have tested negative, and investigators continue to search for cause of infection. According to the World Health Organization, since January 2003, there have been 954 human cases of Bird Flu, and, of those, 464 cases were fatal, giving H5N1 a case fatality rate of 54%.

“Mpox Activity in Africa on Pace to Pass 2024 Total”

This article from CIDRAP discusses fluctuating mpox activity across different countries in Africa, explaining that activity in the region during the first three months of 2025 nearly reached 50% of all that for 2024. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Uganda, and Burundi accounted for 95% of the confirmed cases in recent weeks. However, test coverage is low (18.4%) in the DRC now due to ongoing conflict, making it difficult to collect and transport samples, especially in light of foreign aid cuts.

“Dropping U.S. Biodefenses: Why Cuts to Federal Health Agencies Make Americans Less Safe”

Stephanie Psaki and Beth Cameron authored this article for Just Security, explaining how HHS is central to the United States’ biological readiness and what the devastating cuts across the organization likely mean for US security. They write in part, “HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. framed these changes as part of his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, citing recent declines in life expectancy, while neglecting to mention that those declines were largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Trump administration’s stated goals are to streamline HHS, save taxpayer money, focus more on chronic illness, and make HHS more responsive and efficient. It claims it can make these reforms without impacting critical services. In practice, however, the administration has cut essential funding that was helping states and cities prepare for outbreaks; reassigned leaders who were stopping biological threats in other countries from spreading; undermined the United States’ ability to quickly review and approve treatments and vaccines during an emergency; and disrupted essential work to create vaccines, tests, and treatments for dangerous diseases. These approaches do not make America healthy. They make America less safe.”

“A Call to Action for Global Health Security”

NTI’s Lauren Maynor, Sara Kaufman, and David Stiefel wrote this call to action for World Health Day, discussing the impacts of US funding cuts in the context of global health security, writing in part “These cuts are coming at a time when global health security has already proven to need more focused attention, including for epidemic and pandemic preparedness. In 2021, the Global Health Security Index (GHS Index) found that all countries remain dangerously unprepared for future public health threats. Recent actions taken by the U.S. administration will only further exacerbate this risk. Terminating research, dismissing world class disease detectives, and defunding capacity building can only lead to a less secure future with unnecessary loss of lives and livelihoods.”

“How to Stop Bioterrorists from Buying Dangerous DNA”

Steph Batalis and Vikram Venkatram recently published this article in The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, writing in part “Along with new possibilities, however, the ability to custom-order genes also has the potential to open up new risks. Some DNA codes for genes from pathogens and toxins—sequences that could cause harm if misused. To limit such an outcome, experts from industry, government, and academia recommend screening orders and customers before filling an order.”

Politics and the Life Sciences Spring 2025 Issue

The spring 2025 issue of Politics and the Life Sciences includes two articles on the BWC: “BWC Confidence-Building Measures: Increasing BWC Assurance Through Transparency and Information Sharing,” and “Diplomacy Disrupted: A Mixed-Methods Analysis of Russian Disinformation at the Ninth Review Conference of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention”.

“Global Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Data Suite”

Markus K. Binder authored this START research brief: “This report highlights some core themes and insights drawn from the data speaking to VSNA (Violent Non-State Actors) and CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear) threats and trends. The CBRN Date Suite is broken down into multiple component datasets. The VSNA CBRN Event Database records 593 distinct events across 106 variables covering the period 1990 to 2024 to breakdown events by country, motivating ideology, and year. The VSNA CBRN Actor Database is an actor (individual)-level database that brings together available open- source data on the demographic, educational, and experiential backgrounds of all identifiable individual non-state users and attempted users of CBRN weapons or devices. The Criminal CBRN Database documents events perpetrated by criminal (not terrorist) threat actors often employing the same agents as ideological threat actors, frequently with little or no regard for the potential to harm the public, or on occasion with the active intent to causing general harm, that would have otherwise been excluded from CBRN databases because of their lack of a criminal element.”

“Inspectors Say More Than 100 Chemical Weapons Sites Could Remain in Syria”

NYT’s Megha Rajagopalan reports on the suspected 100+ chemical weapons sites thought to still remain in Syria in this article. This has raised international concerns about the potential for these weapons to fall into the hands of terrorist organizations following the fall of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024. As she explains, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is working with Syria’s new leadership to secure and dismantle these chemical weapons to prevent their misuse, which experts are cautiously optimistic about.

“Douma City Marks the 7th Anniversary of the Chemical Massacre Committed by Ousted Regime”

This article from the Syrian Arab News Agency discusses the seventh anniversary of the horrific chemical warfare attacks against civilians in Douma. It also covers the current government’s commitment to justice and accountability, urging the international community to support these efforts as well as those to combat terrorism and CW use.

NEW: What Everyone Should Know About Bird Flu (H5N1)

From NASEM: “It’s been a little over a year since H5N1 avian influenza or “bird flu” was first detected in U.S. dairy cows, and many questions remain about the highly pathogenic virus.”

“In response, the National Academies’ Health and Medicine Division and Division on Earth and Life Studies are holding a special edition “Healthy Exchange” webinar series addressing the topic. The first webinar in the series, “What Everyone Should Know About Bird Flu (H5N1),” will take place on April 29, 2025. Subject matter experts will provide general information about the virus and explain how we got here, who’s at risk, and what’s at stake. ”

Learn more and register here.

NEW: CTD-SPECTRE 2nd Annual Symposium 

“The CTD-SPECTRE Symposium on Tropical and Emerging Infectious Diseases for Clinicians and Translational Scientists 2025 offers a unique opportunity to connect with global experts, gain cutting-edge insights, and collaborate with peers dedicated to infectious disease research and treatment.”

“Taking place September 16 -19, 2025, at the historic Grand Galvez in Galveston, TX, this immersive symposium will unite clinicians, translational investigators, and trainees to explore the latest breakthroughs in tropical and emerging infectious diseases.”

Learn more and register here.

Digital Technologies for Epidemic Intelligence

From ACHS: “How do risks change during an emerging infectious disease threat? Traditional surveillance methods demonstrate specific limitations when applied to complex or rapidly evolving outbreak situations. Newer digital technologies and event-based surveillance can provide early alerts, data from blind spots or novel ways to integrate data…Dr. Oliver Morgan, Director of the WHO Hub in Berlin, will discuss the potential applications and limitations of emerging digital technologies in strengthening multidisciplinary strategies for epidemic prevention, prediction, and preparedness.”

This webinar will take place on April 22 from 7-8 pm (GMT+8:00). Learn more and register here.

Advancing Biotechnology for a Secure Tomorrow

On April 24, MITRE and the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB) will host a conference that will explore the economic and national security implications of emerging biotechnologies. Join us to discuss the NSCEB’s final report and recommendations followed by a series of in-depth discussions on the promotion and protection of the US bioeconomy. Register now!

International Symposium on Transboundary and Emerging Zoonotic Diseases  

“The International Symposium on Transboundary and Emerging Zoonotic Diseases is designed to showcase many aspects of the partner institutions’ findings, to serve as a forum for scientists far and wide to present their own findings, and to interact and network extensively with partners. In addition, keynote speakers, each a well-recognized leader in a specific aspect of transboundary or emerging diseases, will present on topics to help guide the overall discussions. Abstracts are welcome for both oral and poster presentations.”

This symposium will take place April 28-30 in Manhattan, Kansas. Learn more and register here by April 4.

NACCHO Preparedness Summit-Pathway to Recovery in the Aftermath of Disasters

From NACCHO: “The Preparedness Summit is the place for you to reenergize while gaining the knowledge, resources, and relationships necessary to prepare for and respond to public health emergencies. Join more than 2,500 attendees—who work in all levels of the government (federal, state, and local), emergency management, volunteer organizations, healthcare coalitions, and academia—to share best practices, build partnerships, advance your skillset, and take away innovative solutions and practical strategies to address the vulnerabilities in our country’s health security system.”

This year’s summit will take place April 29-May 2 in San Antonio. Learn more and register here.

Astrobiodefense: Biological Threats and the Next Frontier

From the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense: “This Commission meeting, Astrobiodefense: Biological Threats and the Next Frontier, will be held on May 8, 2025. The focus of this meeting will be to provide the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense with a better understanding of how to strengthen international astrobiodefense and planetary protection efforts through: (1) current government astrobiodefense efforts; (2) new scientific and technological advances for astrobiodefense; and (3) collaborative efforts and public-private partnerships to improve astrobiodefense. More information will be provided as the event date approaches.”

This event will take place on May 8 from 10 am-3:40 pm ET in Washington, DC. Register here.

International Pandemic Sciences Conference

“Representatives from academia, industry, civil society and policy are invited to gather in Oxford, UK, and online from 30 June – 1 July 2025 for the International Pandemic Sciences Conference 2025.”

“This year’s conference theme, Getting Ahead of the Curve, will explore how we can work together to predict, identify and control epidemic and pandemic threats globally. ”

“Over two days of plenary, parallel and networking sessions, stakeholders from different sectors and communities will have the opportunity to share ideas, experiences and strategies on prediction, early detection and control of pandemic threats. ”

“The International Pandemic Sciences Conference 2025 is hosted by the Pandemic Sciences Institute at the University of Oxford.”

Learn more, register, and submit abstracts here.

SBA.4 International Synthetic Biology and Biosecurity Conference in Africa

From SynBio Africa: “The SBA 4.0 conference will serve as a platform for fostering connections among industry, academia, community groups, and policymakers. It will showcase innovative applications of synthetic biology and AI, and highlight ongoing efforts in biomathematics, biomanufacturing, one-health, biosafety and biosecurity. It will also facilitate networking and information exchange. Key focus areas include tackling agriculture, health, environmental management, and industry challenges. In Africa, synthetic biology is poised to drive the national development agenda by promoting a sustainable bioeconomy, supporting health and agricultural systems, and aiding environmental conservation and restoration. This event will provide a vital opportunity for stakeholders to discuss and strategize the integration of synthetic biology innovations, address policy, legal frameworks, and communicate the benefits of the technology.”

This conference will take place July 23-25 in Kigali. Learn more and register here.

NEW: Call for Experts: Health-Security Interface Technical Advisory Group (HSI-TAG)

From WHO: “The World Health Organization (WHO) is seeking experts to serve as members of the Health-Security Interface Technical Advisory Group (HSI-TAG). This “Call for experts” provides information about the advisory group, the expert profiles being sought, the process to express interest, and the process of selection.”

The deadline to express interest is May 5.

Ninth Annual Next Generation for Biosecurity Competition Open for Applications

From NTI|bio: “The Ninth Annual Next Generation for Biosecurity Competition is now open. NTI | bio hosts this competition to provide a platform for the next generation of global leaders in biosecurity to develop original concepts and share them with the wider biosecurity community. This year’s co-sponsors include 80,000 Hours, CBWNet, the iGEM Foundation, the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP), the International Biosecurity and Biosafety Initiative for Science (IBBIS), the United Nations Office of Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), and Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security, and Conflict Transformation.”

“This year, the competition invites innovative and creative papers focused on how to define “biological weapons,” given the ever-evolving biothreat landscape. The full prompt is provided below.”

Learn more here.

NOFO, Addressing Agricultural Biorisk Evidence Base Gaps with Applied Research
“There is a global recognition that the current evidence base to inform laboratory biological risk management has gaps, and that biosafety and biosecurity policies are not always based on evidence.1 This notice of funding will support the design and implementation of applied biorisk research to address evidence gaps in working with high-consequence veterinary and agricultural pathogens as identified during the RAV3N Biorisk and Biosafety Gap Assessment Workshop2 or similar gap analysis like the WOAH working group agent specific biorisk gap analysis.1  ERGP is seeking proposals that address one or more key focus area components listed below. Each proposal will go through an internal ERGP and external expert review. Successful proposals should address at least one of the three key focus areas and at least one component under that area.”

“This funding opportunity aims at the design and implementation of applied biorisk research to address evidence gaps in working with high-consequence veterinary and agricultural pathogens.”

“This work will contribute to recommended guidance on laboratory biosafety and agricultural biosecurity, using research techniques to evaluate the application and effectiveness in operational contexts. All proposals must make a clear experimental plan for how the applicant will test the application and outcomes of their focus area(s)/component(s) in their facility.”

Learn more and submit application by April 14 here.

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