Note: This event was recorded on September 17, 2020 and premiered on September 24, 2020.
The ongoing novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is revealing major gaps in national readiness to prepare for, respond to, and recover from biological threats. Decision makers must consider enhancements to policies and programs to better defend against the next biological threat as the Nation continues to respond to the crisis. COVID-19 will not be the last biological threat we face and it likely will not be the worst as the risk of natural and human-generated threats continues to increase with time. Innovative science and technology solutions exist or are in development that could change the game for biodefense.
During a virtual meeting entitled The Biological Event Horizon: No Return or Total Resilience, the Commission addressed these emerging biological threats and innovative science and technology solutions to address them
Speakers included:
Representative Susan Brooks (R-IN) – Member, Subcommittee on Health, Committee on Energy and Commerce, U.S. House of Representatives
Representative Diana DeGette (D-CO) – Chair, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation, Committee on Energy and Commerce, U.S. House of Representatives
Jaime Yassif, PhD – Senior Fellow, Global Biological Policy and Programs, Nuclear Threat Initiative
Sohini Ramachandran, PhD – Associate Professor of Biology, Director of Graduate Studies for the Center for Computational Molecular Biology, Associate Professor of Computer Science, Brown University
Nita Madhav, MSPH – Chief Executive Officer, President, and Board Member, Metabiota
Kavita M. Berger, PhD – Director, Board on Life Sciences, National Academies of Sciences
Luciana Borio, MD – Vice President, Technical Staff, In-Q-Tel