Explore biosecurity and learn how to respond to biological threats

Today’s world is facing more biological threats than ever, from mutations to antibiotic resistance to new diseases and increased access to engineered diseases. It’s vital that scientific research is being carried out safely to protect those who work in the lab as well as wider communities.

On this course you will get an introduction to these issues, exploring biosecurity, biological threats and how to counter them in your work. You will also learn about responding to biological challenges and learn to examine issues in the lab.

This course is for professionals working in public and global health, international security, politics and international relations. It may be of particular use to biosafety officers in academia, industry or government, and early-career science scholars in the life sciences.

Syllabus

Introduction to Biosecurity

Welcome to Next Generation Biosecurity: Responding to 21st Century Biorisks
Biorisks in the 21st century
Overarching course concepts
What we have learned in Week One

Biological threats and challenges

Biological Threats and Challenges in the Twenty-First Century
The historical use of biological weapons
Developments and advances in the life sciences and their potential impact on biosecurity
What does a bad infectious disease outbreak look like?
How can we respond to a bad disease outbreak?
Laboratory accidents and the inadvertant release of pathogens
Cyberbiosecurity challenges
What have we learned?

Responding to biosecurity challenges: what you can do inside the lab

Managing biorisks in the laboratory
Biorisk management: core concepts and implementation
Biosecurity in practice: what laboratory biosecurity looks like around the world
Future governance of technology
Additional resources
What have we learned?

Responding to biosecurity challenges: what others are doing outside the lab

Biosecurity outside the lab: international frameworks and agreements
Discovering the international biosecurity frameworks
Allegations of use of biological weapons
Preparing for, and responding to, biological weapons use
Export controls: international agreements and national rules
Building sustainable partnerships between the scientific and law enforcement communities
What have we learned?

Responding to biosecurity challenges: the responsible conduct of science within the laboratory

Responding to biosecurity challenges: ethical considerations and responsible conduct
Bioethics and biosecurity: how can bioethics help mitigate biorisks in the lab?
Unpacking the responsible conduct of science
Dual-use, the dual-use dilemma and dual-use research of concern
What role can scientific organisations and professional associations play in biosecurity?
What is the role of industry in biosecurity?
What have we learned?