Deputy Director, Converging Risks Lab and Biosecurity Projects Manager, Council on Strategic Risks

Dr. Yong-Bee Lim is Deputy Director of the Converging Risks Lab, an institute of the Council on Strategic Risks (CSR), and Biosecurity Projects Manager for CSR. Previously, he was a Deputy Director and Fellow at the Nolan Center, where he wrote extensively on biological risks and solutions. He is also an Editorial Fellow at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Dr. Lim’s academic work examined how emerging technologies and non-traditional actors such as the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Bio community affect the benefits and risks associated with the life sciences and other science disciplines. He previously worked as a researcher in a number of U.S. government institutions, including the Office for At-Risk Individuals, Behavioral Health, and Community Resilience (HHS/ASPR, the National Defense University’s Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction (DoD), and at the Center for Global Security Research at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (DoE).

His interactions with the DIYBio community have offered him unique opportunities in building bridges between the safety, security, and citizen science communities. He was an organizer and speaker at multiple Global BioSummits – a MIT Media Lab-led 3-day citizen-science conference. He also created an initiative through the Global BioSummit platform that brought together citizen scientists and public health professionals to discuss safe operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. He has joined the efforts of the Speaker Lab group of the Biohacking Village (associated with DEF CON) and its mission to serve as a hub and a catalyst for addressing safety, security, and equity issues that exist at the nexus of emerging tech, healthcare, innovation, and society.

He was chosen as a Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Initiative (ELBI) Fellow in 2018. In addition, he was a recipient of the full-ride Presidential Scholarship for the Biodefense program at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government. 

Dr. Lim holds a doctorate and a master’s degree in Biodefense with a specialization in Terrorism and Homeland Security Studies from George Mason University, and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the same institution.