Commission Announces New Position to Lead Biodefense Policy and Research Efforts.
The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense is seeking a Director of Policy and Research to develop and supervise the Commission’s biodefense policy and research agendas. The Commission, established in 2014, assesses the state of U.S. biodefense efforts and recommends changes to U.S. policy and law to strengthen national biodefense while optimizing resource investments. The Commissioners, all former high-ranking government officials, and the staff of four have conducted more than 20 public meetings and produced six reports, including the seminal A National Blueprint for Biodefense: Leadership and Major Reform Needed to Optimize Efforts. The pandemic of 2020 has shined a spotlight on the Commission’s work and this new Director of Policy and Research joins at an exciting time of high-intensity focus and rapid-growth. If you are interested, please send your resume to admin@biodefensecommission.org
News HighlightThe U.S. Can End Pandemics Within A Decade
Today, the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense released a timely report containing specific recommendations to Congress and the Administration. If leaders act on these recommendations, the Nation could put an end to pandemics within a decade. The Athena Agenda: Advancing The Apollo Program for Biodefense, provides recommendations to implement the 15 technology priorities described by the Commission in its 2021 report, The Apollo Program for Biodefense also identifies the US government organizations responsible for leadership, accountability, and engagement in public-private partnerships necessary for success.
More12 April, 2022
At this November 2020 meeting, the Commission assessed the national response to COVID-19 as those activities relate to the recommendations of the Blueprint. More details on this meeting can be found here.
Commission
September 13, 2023
Lack of Standardization Across MDx Infectious Disease Tests Could Undermine Pandemic Preparedness
Ambika Bumb, deputy executive director of the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense, a privately funded organization founded in 2014 to help assess US biodefense capabilities, said that one useful role for the federal government would be to establish guidelines for what information molecular infectious disease tests should provide. She noted that currently the CDC doesn't have the authority needed to require standardized infectious disease data reporting across state and local governments.
August 31, 2023
Biotech promises miracles. But the risks call for more oversight
Now it’s the rise of biotechnology, a sector with its origins in the ability to sequence, synthesize, and edit the genes of organisms, that is joining the pantheon of advances that pose perplexing dual-use implications. Life sciences progress is creating both the potential for unprecedented benefits in medicine (and other areas) as well as new risks of harm from accidents, unforeseen consequences, or even deliberate abuse. There has never been a major technological disruption that countries haven’t sought to use for industrial or military superiority, or for terrorists and criminals in pursuit of their aims. The examples of historical bioweapons programs and bioterrorism suggest that these maxims will likely remain the case as the bioeconomy grows.
National Museum of American History.
August 28, 2023
Millennium | A Marquis Who’s Who Magazine: Dr. Asha M. George
Specializing in national security, intelligence and public health, Dr. Asha M. George has been recognized extensively for her work in strengthening U.S. national security. Joining the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense in Washington, D.C., in 2014, she has excelled as their executive director since 2016. As executive director, she leads the Commission’s assessment of the U.S. government’s biodefense operations and procedures and advises on various strategies to prevent, deter, prepare for, detect, respond to, attribute, recover from and mitigate biological events that may threaten the U.S. Her work and that of the Commission led to the development of a national biodefense strategy, the requirement for which was signed into law by former president Barack Obama, produced for the first time by the Trump Administration and revised by the Biden Administration.
August 23, 2023
Learning from COVID-19, Pentagon’s Biodefense Council to break down stovepipes
“It would be foolish for us to think that just these four countries have decided they’re getting involved and that’s it, there’s nobody else, just these four,” George told the audience. “That doesn’t make sense from a proliferation standpoint, both in terms of the proliferation of weapons, and the proliferation of science and quite frankly, the proliferation of fear.”
(US Army/Sgt. 1st Class Marisol Walker)
August 18, 2023
Commission Commends Department of Defense for 2023 Biodefense Posture Review
WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 18, 2023) – Yesterday, the Department of Defense (DOD) released its 2023 Biodefense Posture Review. Requested by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and required by the Secretary of Defense, the Biodefense Posture Review acknowledges: (1) current biological threats to warfighters, America, and its interests overseas; (2) inefficiencies in the DOD biodefense enterprise, and (3) biodefense areas in which DOD must lead or follow. The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense recognizes the value of this effort and the important signal it sends that DOD takes seriously the need to defend against biological threats to our national security.
August 17, 2023
Pentagon biodefense review points to Chinese, Russian threats
“I would not be surprised if by next year they’re saying China has some offensive biological weapons programs. Usually, they just say something like, you are concerned about dual use. And this year they didn’t do that,” said Asha M. George, executive director at the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense, who added that Russia remains an equally concerning threat.
(Ng Han Guan/AP)
