GCBR Organization Updates: April 2025
Updates from Sentinel Bio, SecureDNA, Panoplia Labs, Mirror Biology Dialogues Fund, Brown Pandemic Center, CHS, IBBIS, CSR, CLTR, Blueprint Biosecurity, Scrowcroft BPPC, Asia CHS, and 1DaySooner
Welcome to this edition of our newsletter featuring updates on organizations working to reduce Global Catastrophic Biological Risks (GCBRs), including:
A Summit on the present H5N1 influenza outbreak;
A UK national poll about public attitudes towards extreme risks;
An extensive report on far-UVC;
A response to the Administration's Request for Comment on its AI Action Plan;
Introducing the Mirror Biology Dialogues Fund and celebrating the Asia Centre for Health Security’s first year anniversary;
A record nine open jobs and fellowships (see opportunities section at the end);
And more!
Sentinel Bio
Sentinel Bio is a non-profit philanthropic fund focused on eliminating pandemic risks.
We have launched and continued key partnerships to strengthen safeguards on advanced biotechnologies:
We launched a new partnership with the Centre for Long-Term Resilience. Our support will allow CLTR to advance its work on AI-enabled biology and nucleic acid synthesis screening.
We supported Foreign Policy’s Emerging Threats Forum at the 2025 Munich Security Conference.
We’re continuing our collaboration with the Pandemic Action Network on nucleic acid synthesis screening in Europe.
For our work on the governance of synthetic nucleic acids, we are looking into how we can best support policy research and advocacy in the United States and European Union. If there is anyone you think we should be speaking with on either of those fronts, please get in touch.
Janika Schmitt has joined our team and is developing our strategy for pandemic countermeasure technologies — please reach out if you’d like to connect on these issues!
SecureBio
SecureBio is a nonprofit research organization working on new technologies and policy proposals to delay, detect, and defend against catastrophic pandemics.
The Nucleic Acid Observatory (NAO) had a busy and exciting quarter. Our wastewater surveillance system now ingests & analyzes sequencing data from more than a dozen sewersheds, including some as part of a DOD subcontract. We are also growing our program to collect individual nasal swabs. Thanks to a large new grant, we will be able to massively scale up all our biosurveillance efforts. Transformer recently covered NAO's work in an article. This is just a selection of what we worked on this quarter: a more detailed update on all of the NAO's projects is available here.
SecureDNA continues to grow its outreach work in Asia in order to promote safe and trustworthy order screening in the global gene synthesis industry. We have added a Strategic Engagement Advisor, Andrew Dale (andrew [at] securedna.org), to enhance our engagement with providers beyond our existing Chinese partnerships. The team has successfully onboarded several new synthesis providers globally this quarter, expanding its screening network and biosecurity impact.
Panoplia Laboratories
Panoplia Laboratories is a nonprofit organization that evaluates the risks and capabilities of AI-driven biology through wet lab research.
Joe Torres is our new Executive Director and Brian Wang has moved on to become a Program Director at ARIA.
We’ve shifted toward assessing AI bio capabilities in the physical wet lab, and we’re gearing up to run a wet lab novice uplift study on 100+ participants over 10-12 weeks.
Pandemic Center, Brown University School of Public Health
The Pandemic Center at the Brown University School of Public Health works to reduce vulnerabilities and increase resilience to pandemics, other biological emergencies, and the harms they pose to health, peace, security, and prosperity.
The Pandemic Center, with CEPI and NTI | bio, hosted a side event at the Munich Security Conference with the Biosecurity Game Changers fellows and next-gen leaders to accelerate biosecurity in the context of the 100 days mission, facilitating a biosecurity rising leaders' declaration.
In March and April, the Pandemic Center weighed in on the biosecurity impacts of recent U.S. staffing and program cuts.
In March, the Pandemic Center and the National Academy of Medicine co-hosted a GHS Financing Forum to discuss urgent global health security financing needs for emerging and future biological threats.
We published a brief on the wastewater surveillance landscape in the U.S. and an op-ed in STAT on the importance of wastewater surveillance for tracking bird flu.
In December, we hosted a roundtable to advance clean indoor air policy. We recently published a brief and pre-print outlining a policy roadmap to improve indoor air quality.
Mirror Biology Dialogues Fund
The Mirror Biology Dialogues Fund (newsletter) supports efforts to understand risks and develop governance frameworks for mirror biology research before it becomes technically feasible to create mirror life.
In December 2024, an article in Science authored by an international group of 38 leading researchers and supported by an in-depth technical report described risks from the creation of “mirror bacteria”—hypothesized synthetic organisms in which all biomolecules have reversed chirality. The group argued that mirror bacteria should not be created due to the unprecedented magnitude of potential risks and called for a global effort to identify appropriate governance approaches. MBDF was established to support this discussion.
In February, MBDF supported a summit with approximately 300 leaders in biotechnology, bioethics, and related fields. A Science news article described widespread agreement at the summit that mirror life should not be created.
In June, MBDF will co-host the Paris Conference on Risks from Mirror Life with the Institut Pasteur. This will be the first public event dedicated to the topic.
MBDF is supporting a US National Academies workshop (Fall 2025) and events in the UK (Fall 2025) and Singapore (Spring 2026). Subscribe to our newsletter for updates.
Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security
The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security (CHS) (newsletter) explores how new policy approaches, scientific advances and technological innovations can improve organizations, systems, policies and tools to prevent and respond to pandemics and biological threats.
We held an AIxBio side event for Paris AI Action Summit discussing the benefits and risks of AI and the life sciences. CHS leadership also attended the Summit. Read our Director’s takeaways
Read our Response to the Trump Administration's Request for Comment on its AI Action Plan, which included recommendations for innovations in AI and biosecurity.
Read CHS’s Response to the US AISI’s draft guidance related to dual-use foundation models and biological AI models.
CHS hosted a side event for government officials and other thought leaders at the Munich Security Conference to discuss how the UK, Germany, and the US are assessing biological risks and utilizing technology to better prevent and prepare for biological threats. Read our Director’s insights and takeaways and our Horizon Fellow’s blog post.
CHS hosted an event on April 4th for Congressional staffers focused on the prevention and response to large scale biological events.
IBBIS
The International Biosecurity and Biosafety Initiative for Science (IBBIS) (news) is a Geneva-based nonprofit that works collaboratively with global partners to strengthen biosecurity norms and develop innovative tools to uphold them.
Our project creating a map of global DNA synthesis providers and policies has already completed stakeholder interviews across Mexico, India, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Additional collaborators still welcome!
We've launched a new project on international standards for synthesis screening, and have been engaging with policymakers around the world, including via a comment on the New Zealand Gene Technology Bill, an EU parliamentary roundtable, and a presentation at the Australia Group intersessional meeting.
We presented at the Munich Security Conference, AI Action Summit and IFBA Global Voices Conference. In Q2, find our team at SynBioBeta (USA), EBSA (Netherlands), Pasteur Institute Workshop on Mirror Life (France), BIO 2025 (USA).
Council on Strategic Risks
The Council on Strategic Risks (CSR) is a nonprofit, non-partisan security policy institute devoted to anticipating, analyzing and addressing core systemic risks to security in the 21st century, with special examination of the ways in which these risks intersect and exacerbate one another.
Applications are open for the inaugural cohort of our International Mid-Career Biosecurity Fellowship. The program will begin virtually in mid-May and conclude with in-person sessions June 16-20, 2025 in Germany. Eligibility includes citizens from NATO member states and NATO’s four official Indo-Pacific partners (Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and the Republic of Korea). Applications are due by 6:00 a.m. (EDT) on Monday, May 5th.
Our team emphasizes key recommendations and biodefense analysis included in the final report published by the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology, following the multi-year work mandated by the US Congress.
Christine Parthemore and John Moulton analyzed the biological threat findings of the 2025 annual US Intelligence Community threat assessment.
Our experts provided biodefense recommendations for the Trump Administration.
Our team contextualized the status of the Biological Weapons Convention following the December 2025 Meeting of States Parties.
Centre for Long-Term Resilience
The Biosecurity Policy Unit at the Centre for Long-Term Resilience (CLTR) works closely with the UK Government and other stakeholders to reduce extreme biological risks.
In February, we published a new report on how to simultaneously grow the UK bioeconomy while addressing national security goals against biological threats.
We conducted a UK national poll in collaboration with Public First about public attitudes towards extreme risks, which found a large majority of the British population believes that biological risks are rising and pandemic preparedness should be a top priority for the UK government.
In March, we published a new report with recommendations on how to boost the UK's supply chain resilience to mitigate catastrophic biological risks. This was covered in UK news and BBC radio.
In April, we published a perspective piece on why biosecurity must not become a casualty of the trade war.
Blueprint Biosecurity
Blueprint Biosecurity is a nonprofit dedicated to achieving breakthroughs in humanity’s ability to prevent, mitigate, and suppress pandemics.
We published the first release of our report, Blueprint for Far-UVC. In addition to serving as a comprehensive educational resource, it offers actionable recommendations for speeding up far-UVC's development.
We published a piece in Works in Progress about far-UVC’s scaling challenges.
Project AIR is our new research initiative aimed at implementing the recommendations from the far-UVC Blueprint. It will include the first large-scale randomized control trial for establishing far-UVC's real-world effectiveness, along with safety studies and improved usage guidelines.
We launched a new substack where we will be writing about progress across the far-UVC field.
We launched our DEMIST RFP—up to $150k per team to study how airborne TB responds to far-UVC light. Learn more and apply by 4/28 here.
We facilitated the closing panel at the NIST workshop on germicidal UV.
Our PPE team is investigating strategies to quickly manufacture reusable respirators in a crisis.
Biosecurity and Pandemic Policy Center, Scowcroft Institute
The Biosecurity and Pandemic Policy Center, at the Texas A&M Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs, conducts policy-oriented research dedicated to promoting a world safe, secure, and resilient against existential biological threats.
In March, we hosted the 2025 Scowcroft Institute Pandemic Summit in Washington, DC. The summit was a day-long discussion of the present H5N1 influenza outbreak, with a focus on the implications of ongoing infections in cattle and the agricultural sector at large. A summary report of takeaways will be published in the near future. For a shorter overview, please see this post that appeared in the Pandora Report, by the GMU Biodefense Program.
We are excited to see that the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology's final report section 4.4 cites our white paper proposing an independent federal bioresponsibility authority, among related calls for such an authority, and lays out a similar vision.
We joined the Brown Pandemic Center on a preprint article discussing policy levers for state and federal government bodies to improve indoor air quality now available on SSRN.
Asia Centre for Health Security
The Asia Centre for Health Security (ACHS) (newsletter) is a new academic think tank, set-up to strengthen Asia’s readiness for biological threats through scientific evidence, building of expertise and capabilities, and the forging of strategic partnerships. Our vision is a united and resilient Asia safeguarded against health security threats for the well-being of future generations.
The Asia Centre for Health Security (ACHS) is pleased to present the Global Health Security Law (GHSL) course in collaboration with the Centre for International Law at the National University of Singapore. This course offers a comprehensive overview of the legal frameworks governing global health security– the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Health Regulations (IHR) and the Pandemic Treaty, Human Rights During Public Health Emergencies, Access and Benefit Sharing, Access to Medicines During Outbreaks and One Health. Join us from 11 – 13 June 2025, 14:00 – 17:30 (GMT+08:00) to learn from renowned experts in the field. Register for the Global Health Security Law Course here.
The Asia Centre for Health Security celebrated its first year anniversary in April 2025. This milestone marks a year of growth and collaboration in advancing health security across Asia. Reflecting on our journey, we've built more than just an academic think tank – we’ve created a community committed to strengthening health systems and moving closer to our vision of an Asia better prepared for both current and emerging biological threats. Over the past year, we've launched the ACHS Fellowship Program, convened regional meetings, and initiated impactful research that could lead to improving policies and practices. To commemorate this milestone, we’ve curated a special anniversary page on the ACHS website, showcasing key achievements, and offering an insightful view of the strides we’ve made in our first year.
1DaySooner
1Day Sooner (news) is a nonprofit organization that advocates for high-impact medical studies and the efficient development and deployment of life-saving medical research and public health interventions.
Three new papers conducted or funded by 1DaySooner:
Biosecurity considerations of controlled human infection model studies examines three biosecurity risk areas for controlled human infection studies: onward pathogen transmission, information hazards, and challenge agent manufacturing risks, proposing mitigations to enhance biosecurity without sacrificing medical advances.
An analysis of controlled human infection studies registered on ClinicalTrials.gov hypothesizes that adverse event data may be more easily aggregated using a clinical trial registry like ClinicalTrials.gov.
Cost-effectiveness of malaria interventions: a systematic review: 1Day Africa’s research team reviewed studies evaluating the cost-effectiveness of malaria prevention interventions, including vaccines, vector control, insecticide-treated bed nets, and chemoprevention.
We provided a public comment on the development of an AI action plan from the Office of Science & Technology Policy (OSTP). Our recommendations include establishing an AI Corps within HHS to accelerate integration of AI across its agencies and strengthening the FDA’s regulatory capacity through AI.
Opportunities
Jobs
You can find additional biosecurity and pandemic preparedness jobs on the 80,000 Hours job board.
1DaySooner: is hiring a Volunteer Coordinator, who will support participants across all phases of study involvement, develop and execute targeted outreach strategies, collaborate closely with study teams and community organizations, and advocate for participant perspectives.
Blueprint Biosecurity: Researcher / Senior Researcher (Remote, FT, hiring multiple positions) to translate academic and industry research into actionable plans to prevent and suppress future pandemics.
CLTR: We are looking to hire a Strategic Partnerships and Philanthropy Lead to take our fundraising activity to the next level.
EU HERA: is hiring a Policy officer - Medical Counter Measures innovation and access, deadline to apply April 25.
Panoplia Labs: We’re hiring for research associates and an operations lead to help us run the uplift study.
The Mirror Biology Dialogues Fund is looking to hire an Event Operations Contractor and a Technical Contractor for approximately two months in May-June 2025.
Other opportunities
CSR’s International Mid-Career Biosecurity Fellowship: A new fellowship for citizens of NATO states (+ official Indo-Pacific partners). Apply by May 5.
CEPI’s Global South Fellowship Program: Four positions for individuals from Global South countries to contribute to global pandemic preparedness. Apply by April 17. (h/t to SEA Bio)
The Ninth Annual Next Generation for Biosecurity Competition has been launched. Find a team now to submit your project by July 13, 2025.
We regularly solicit updates from a group of organizations that we believe are doing impactful work to reduce GCBRs in order to improve transparency, facilitate collaboration, and otherwise accelerate progress in our community. Do you have any opportunities (jobs, events, etc.) you would like to share with our network? Please use this form to submit them.
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Cover image credit: Wellcome Collection.