Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic four years ago, international conversation continues about the origins of the virus and appropriate biosafety and biosecurity measures to protect people and the environment. On March 20, 2024, U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Rand Paul (R-KY), chairman and ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, announced a joint investigation of national security threats posed by high-risk biological research and technology in the U.S. and abroad. 

Concurrently, significant strides have been made in the academic sector to address these concerns. David Gillum, associate vice president of compliance and research administration at the University of Nevada, Reno, and Kathleen M. Vogel, professor in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society at Arizona State University, were awarded a substantial grant this month from the National Institutes of Health for $867,331 to study the future of biosafety and biosecurity in the United States. The funding is aimed at understanding how practitioners understand, assess and mitigate risks associated with research on pandemic pathogens and high-risk biological agents, some without treatment or without a cure. 

This project will collect new empirical data to explore the knowledge and understanding of research involving Potential Pandemic Pathogens (PPPs) and Dual Use Research of Concern (DURC) by biosafety and biosecurity personnel and scientific researchers with oversight responsibilities in academic, industry, government and amateur science. 

“This project will help advance knowledge within the fields of biosafety and biosecurity across the life sciences community related to experiments that can be used for public benefit or possible harm,” Gillum said. “To date, there is no baseline data or systematic analysis of how working practitioners are implementing biosafety and biosecurity policies and the gaps, shortcomings and challenges that might exist at the laboratory and institutional levels. There is generally a dearth of empirical research on the experiences and tacit knowledge of practitioners working in these fields.” 

“The University of Nevada, Reno is a Carnegie R1 research university committed to the pursuit of knowledge that addresses the important issues of our time,” Mridul Gautam, vice president for research and innovation at the University of Nevada, Reno, said. “It is important that research leadership and members of the administration are actively engaged in research grants.” 

The research will comprise several stages, beginning with surveys and focus groups with biosafety and biosecurity practitioners, life scientists, synthetic biologists, policymakers and others. This will be followed by in-person meetings with practitioners, scholars, and government officials in Reno, Nevada, Phoenix, Arizona, and Washington D.C., to discuss opportunities and risks associated with this research, as well as opportunities to improve safety and security measures. 

“The project will provide empirical evidence to help guide the future development and implementation of biosafety and biosecurity policies in the United States,” Vogel said. “A significant goal of this research is to expand participation by diverse experts in biosafety and biosecurity governance discussions and policy engagement. We aim to help inform the design and development of innovative and adaptive biosafety and biosecurity policies and procedures at the national, institutional and laboratory levels to maximize beneficial medical and health applications while minimizing the potential harms.” 

The Nevada Bioinformatics Center at the University of Nevada, Reno is providing a critical service to the project to interpret and analyze the statistical data, leading to the final report and publications for this NIH award. The center offers state-of-the-art bioinformatics and (bio)statistics services to researchers and scientists at the University and beyond needing data and computational assistance. The project will also support graduate and undergraduate students from the School of Public Health. 

This project is funded by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) and was approved by the Institutional Review Boards at Arizona State University (IRB# 00016457) and the University of Nevada, Reno (IRB # 2102871). 

The project has a diverse advisory board with representation from Karmella Haynes from the Emory/GA Tech Biomedical Engineering Department, Yong-Bee Lim of the Council on Strategic Risks, and James Diggans of Twist Bioscience. The research will engage with experts from public and private institutions across all sectors, from higher education to non-governmental organizations to pharmaceutical companies to agriculture conglomerates. 

If you would like to contribute to this research, please contact David Gillum at dgillum@unr.edu. 

For those interested in donating to the University on behalf of research on the future of biosafety and biosecurity, contact the University of Nevada, Reno Foundation, 775-784-1587, giving@unr.edu.

About the researchers

Kathleen M. Vogel brings a wealth of experience to this project as a professor in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society at Arizona State University. She holds a Ph.D. in bio-physical chemistry from Princeton University and was a Rutherford Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute in London, England and a Jefferson Science Fellow in the U.S. Department of State. Vogel is the author of Phantom Menace or Looming Danger? A New Framework for Assessing Bioweapons Threats. 

David Gillum has deep roots in Nevada, having grown up in Goldfield, Nevada, and attended Tonopah High School. He has written several scientific research articles, including publications in Science, Slate Magazine, Issues in Science and Technology, StatNews, Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, Applied Biosafety, The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists and The Conversation. Gillum was the 2020 president of ABSA International and was presented with the Federal Bureau of Investigation Directors Community Leadership Award in Washington, D.C., in 2019. He currently serves as Associate Vice President of Compliance and Research Administration within the Research & Innovation division at the University of Nevada, Reno.