Biosafety and Research Governance

Improving U.S. Biosafety and Biosecurity: Revisiting Recommendations from the Federal Experts Security Advisory Panel and the Fast Track Action Committee on Select Agent Regulations

Clint Haines, Gigi Gronvall. We examined a series of biosafety recommendations made ten years ago, and identified areas where improvements had still not been enacted. Appl Biosafety. 2023 Mar 6;28(1):43–54.

COVID-19 and the gain of function debates: Improving biosafety measures requires a more precise definition of which experiments would raise safety concerns

By Lane Warmbrod, Michael Montague, and Gigi Gronvall. The fuzzy and imprecise nature of the term has led to misunderstandings and has hampered discussions on how to properly assess the benefit of such experiments and biosafety measures. EMBO Rep 22, EMBR202153739 (2021)

Virology: The Path Forward

In the United States (US), biosafety and biosecurity oversight of research on viruses is being reappraised. Safety in virology research is paramount and oversight frameworks should be reviewed periodically. Changes should be made with care, however, to avoid impeding science that is essential for rapidly reducing and responding to pandemic threats as well as addressing more common challenges caused by infectious diseases. Decades of research uniquely positioned the US to be able to respond to the COVID-19 crisis with astounding speed, delivering life-saving vaccines within a year of identifying the virus. We should embolden and empower this strength, which is a vital part of protecting the health, economy, and security of US citizens. Herein, we offer our perspectives on priorities for revised rules governing virology research in the US. Rasmussen AL, Gronvall GK, Lowen AC, Goodrum F, Alwine J, Andersen KG, Anthony SJ, Baines J, Banerjee A, Broadbent AJ, Brooke CB, Campos SK, Caposio P, Casadevall A, Chan GC, Cliffe AR, Collins-McMillen D, Connell N, Damania B, Daugherty MD, Debbink K, Dermody TS, DiMaio D, Duprex WP, Emerman M, Galloway DA, Garry RF, Goldstein SA, Greninger AL, Hartman AL, Hogue BG, Horner SM, Hotez PJ, Jung JU, Kamil JP, Karst SM, Laimins L, Lakdawala SS, Landais I, Letko M, Lindenbach B, Liu S, Luftig M, McFadden G, Mehle A, Morrison J, Moscona A, Mühlberger E, Munger J, Münger K, Murphy E, Neufeldt CJ, Nikolich JZ, O'Connor CM, Pekosz A, Permar SR, Pfeiffer JK, Popescu SV, Purdy JG, Racaniello VR, Rice CM, Runstadler JA, Sapp MJ, Scott RS, Smith GA, Sorrell EM, Speranza E, Streblow D, Tibbetts SA, Toth Z, Van Doorslaer K, Weiss SR, White EA, White TM, Wobus CE, Worobey M, Yamaoka S, Yurochko A. 2024. Virology—the path forward. J Virol 98:e01791-23.