Yong-Bee Lim Selected for Bulletin of Atomic Scientists’ Editorial Fellows Program

The Council on Strategic Risks (CSR) is pleased to share the announcement that Nolan Center Fellow, Dr. Yong-Bee Lim, has been selected as one of seven fellows to be a part of the inaugural class for the Bulletin of the…

BRIEFER: Key U.S. Initiatives for Addressing Biological Threats Part 5

By: Dr. Yong-Bee Lim and Christine Parthemore Today the Nolan Center, an institute of the Council on Strategic Risks, is releasing its fifth briefer in its series Key U.S. Initiatives for Addressing Biological Threats, which focuses on the future industrial…

CSR Announces 2nd Class of its Fellowship for Ending Bioweapons Programs

The Council on Strategic Risks (CSR) has accepted a diverse group of 5 professionals, servicepeople, and innovators into the 2021-22 class of its Fellowship for Ending Bioweapons Programs. Together, through mentorship and exchanges of ideas with key leaders in the…

U.S. Department of Defense in Focus: Budget Priorities and Questions for New Nominees

By Bill Beaver, Christine Parthemore &  Erin Sikorsky On April 9, the Biden administration announced its topline budget priorities for the U.S. government, including for the Department of Defense (DoD). DoD funding will increase by 1.6%, which ends up being…

Protecting Against Biological Threats: Recommendations for the Global Posture Review

By Bill Beaver, Yong-Bee Lim, Christine Parthemore and Andy Weber On February 4, 2021, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III released a statement on the initiation of a Global Posture Review (GPR) - a comprehensive review of the U.S.…

Accelerated Advances in Biotech and the Bioweapons Threat

By Yong-Bee Lim The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) released a report titled Biodefense in the Age of Synthetic Biology in 2018. Beyond focusing on pathogens and biochemicals, this report discussed how nefarious actors may use technical…

BRIEFER: Common Misconceptions About Biological Weapons

By Chris Bakerlee, Steph Guerra, Christine Parthemore, Damien Soghoian, and Jacob Swett The COVID-19 pandemic serves as a loud wake-up call to the systemic and strategic effects of biological threats. If not rapidly detected and addressed, infectious diseases can in…

Pandemics and Bioweapons: A Path for the Biden Administration

Parthemore and Weber, LA Times, Nov 12, 2020 By Christine Parthemore and Andy Weber The COVID-19 pandemic continues to prove that infectious diseases can devastate the United States and the world---killing and sickening millions, disrupting lives, crippling economies, and significantly…

The Nobel Prize, CRISPR-Cas9 and Biological Threats

By Christine Parthemore The Council on Strategic Risks (CSR) would like to congratulate Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna for receiving the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, announced on October 7th. This prestigious prize was awarded for their work developing…

Early Warning in Preventing Future Pandemics: Incredible Opportunity & Major Hurdles

Data will be one of the central components of preventing future outbreaks from growing to pandemic proportions. This holds for natural disease outbreaks and for deliberate biological attacks. Our tools and methods for collecting, analyzing, and using data are incredible…