Center News

More than 100 stakeholders sent a letter to congressional leadership urging them to reauthorize the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA) before the end of the calendar year and with the same bipartisan support it has had since its original authorization 17 years ago.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, in partnership with the World Health Organization, today launched the WHO Generic All-Hazards Risk Assessment Tool for Mass Gathering Events (All-Hazards MG RA Tool).

Launched during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Capitol Hill Steering Committee on Pandemic Preparedness & Health Security is marking 3 successful years.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security today provided feedback and suggestions in response to a RFI from Senator Bill Cassidy, on how Congress can help reform and strengthen the CDC.

A group of public health and security experts responded to a Request for Information today from the White House OSTP regarding potential changes to the Policies for Federal and Institutional Oversight of Life Sciences Dual Use Research of Concern (DURC) and Potential Pandemic Pathogen Care and Oversight (P3CO) Policy Framework.

A contract has been awarded to the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Office of Readiness and Response (ORR) to prepare a workplan for the establishment of a network of regional Centers for Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response (PHEPR).

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security is pleased to announce applications are open for its educational opportunities beginning during the 2024-2025 academic year.

Good indoor air quality (IAQ) is crucial for our health. Improving IAQ can mitigate the spread of airborne infectious diseases—including COVID-19, influenza, measles, and RSV— and help reduce chronic conditions like asthma, lower the risk of certain cancers, and prevent cognitive impairment.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security co-hosted a dialogue with the Regional Centre for Biotechnology of the Department of Biotechnology in the Indian Ministry of Science and Technology in Washington, DC, to discuss biosecurity issues of importance to both India and the United States.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security applauds congressional leaders in health security for their introduction of two pieces of legislation to strengthen security around emerging threats from advances in biotechnology—the bicameral Securing Gene Synthesis Act and the bicameral, bipartisan Artificial Intelligence and Biosecurity Risk Assessment Act.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and more than 30 other stakeholders sent a letter to congressional members on the House Energy and Commerce Committee who are leading the reauthorization of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA), urging them to ensure that this critical piece of pandemic preparedness legislation is passed this year.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security remains a trusted, independent, and expert voice in policy conversations about the upcoming Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA) reauthorization.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security co-convened government officials and other stakeholders for a Southeast Asia Strategic Multilateral Biosecurity Dialogue meeting from April 26-28 in Cebu, Philippines. It was the first in-person meeting of this series since SARS-CoV-2 emerged in 2019.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security applauds Senators Tammy Baldwin and Thom Tillis for their introduction of the bipartisan Disease X Act of 2023.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security applauds Representatives Lori Trahan, Michael C. Burgess, Dan Crenshaw, and Susie Lee for their bipartisan introduction of the Disease X Act of 2023.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security applauds Representatives Pence, Bucshon, Carson, and Schrier for their introduction of the bipartisan Diagnostic Testing Preparedness Plan (DTPP) Act.

Dr. Tom Inglesby provided expert testimony at a congressional hearing about preparing for and responding to future public health security threats.

In a New York Times commentary, Dr. Tom Inglesby and Dr. J. Stephen Morrison, outline a series of solutions to the challenges facing CDC and discuss the importance of implementing these recommendations.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security recently provided feedback and suggestions in response to a Request for Information (RFI) from Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks on how the US Congress can strengthen and reform the CDC.

On March 21, Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security’s peer-reviewed journal Health Security published a new commentary online on the national approach to evolving and emerging drug threats.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security continues to be a trusted, independent, and expert voice in policy conversations about the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA) reauthorization, which is due this fall.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security recently provided feedback and suggestions in response to a Request for Information (RFI) in preparation for the upcoming Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA) reauthorization due by September 30, 2023.

In a New York Times commentary, Dr. Tom Inglesby, marks the third anniversary of WHO declaring COVID-19 a pandemic and reflects on lessons learned that could help the country better prepare for the next pandemic.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security is excited to welcome Erin Sorrell, PhD, MSc to our team.

Tom Inglesby, MD, provided expert testimony at a congressional hearing about biological attribution science.

A group of senior scientists and public health experts has responded to draft recommendations from the NSABB regarding oversight of research involving ePPP and DURC.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security is excited to welcome Alexandra L. Phelan, SJD, LLM, LLB to our team.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security has accepted 31 professionals and scholars into its Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Initiative (ELBI) fellowship program for 2023.

The Composite of Post-Event Well-Being (COPEWELL) project, funded through grants and contracts provided by the CDC since 2011, is an evidence-based model and collection of tools and resources that foster a community-wide approach to better defining and understanding the relationship between resilience and disasters.

A group of senior scientists, public health experts, and policy researchers—including three Center faculty—has published a new commentary in Science.

A delegation from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security is attending the 9^th Review Conference of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWC), alongside representatives from 184 nations that have signed and ratified the treaty.

Gigi Kwik Gronvall, PhD, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, has been appointed to the Secretary of State’s International Security Advisory Board (ISAB).

A new report describes the value of infectious disease (ID) professionals in helping guide the US healthcare system and civil society through the COVID-19 pandemic and sheds light on critical policies needed to ensure such experts are well positioned to help America for decades to come.

A group of scientists, public health experts, and policy researchers responded to the preliminary draft recommendations from the National Science Advisory Board on Biosecurity (NSABB) regarding the US government’s policy for oversight of research involving enhanced potential pandemic pathogens (ePPP) and life sciences dual-use research of concern (DURC).

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security is excited to welcome two biosecurity professionals as new fellows for the next year.

A new study documents challenges faced and lessons learned by local and state public health laboratories (PHLs) during the COVID-19 pandemic response.

A group of senior scientists, public health experts, and policy researchers has submitted recommendations intended to strengthen the oversight of research involving enhanced potential pandemic pathogens (ePPPs) and life sciences dual-use research of concern.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security at the Bloomberg School of Public Health released a new report examining the feasibility of creating a new nongovernmental health security policy center in Asia.

Gigi Kwik Gronvall, PhD, provided expert testimony at a hearing at the California State Legislature on gene synthesis security today.

The National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center (NETEC) and Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security announce the publication of a new supplemental issue of the peer-reviewed journal Health Security.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and Resolve to Save Lives joined 45 stakeholder organizations in submitting a letter to Congressional leaders to support the comprehensive pandemic preparedness and biodefense funding request included in the FY 2023 President’s Budget.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security has accepted 30 professionals and scholars into its Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Initiative (ELBI) fellowship program for 2022.

A new analysis conducted by scientists from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and colleagues and published today in PLOS Global Public Health analyzes Uganda’s Ebola preparedness capacities related to response efforts in 2019.

Gigi Kwik Gronvall, PhD, has been conferred an award by the United States Department of Defense (DoD).

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security has added a new tool to its COVID-19 Testing Toolkit, which will help answer users’ frequent questions about COVID-19 testing.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security co-hosted a virtual dialogue session with the Regional Centre for Biotechnology of the Department of Biotechnology in the Indian Ministry of Science and Technology.

Gigi Gronvall, PhD, provided expert testimony at a hearing at the California State Assembly on gene synthesis security today.

Gigi Kwik Gronvall, PhD, provided virtual remarks at the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) meeting taking in place in Geneva from April 4 to 11, 2022.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security announces the publication of a special feature on US gene drive and related emerging biotechnology regulation in the latest issue of the peer-reviewed journal Health Security.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research convened 9 government officials and 9 technical experts for a tabletop exercise and roundtable discussion on greatly accelerating the development and equitable availability of vaccines against future pandemic threats.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security convened government officials and stakeholders for a Southeast Asia Strategic Multilateral Biosecurity Dialogue meeting on December 14 and 16, 2021.

Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security continues CommuniVax, a research coalition funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

Experts from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security call on school administrators across the United States to reduce COVID-19 transmission by improving indoor air in schools.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security will build upon and continually update The COVID-19 Testing Toolkit, a comprehensive website focused on COVID-19 testing and testing services, for a second year.

Today, Dr. Tom Inglesby begins a temporary assignment at the White House on the COVID-19 response team; in January, he will assume the role of senior advisor for testing.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security released a new report finding that the failure to bring primary care providers into a frontline role as responders to the COVID-19 pandemic, alongside the public health system, resulted in many missed opportunities to provide better quality care, faster testing, more effective contact tracing, greater acceptance of vaccination, and better communication with patients.

Dr. Amesh Adalja provided expert testimony at a hearing at the Pennsylvania General Assembly on COVID-19 treatment options today.

Despite important steps taken by countries to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, all countries—across all income levels—remain dangerously unprepared to meet future epidemic and pandemic threats, according to the new 2021 Global Health Security (GHS) Index.

Amesh Adalja, MD provided expert testimony at a congressional hearing about strengthening biosecurity and biosurveillance practices and systems.

The CommuniVax Coalition released a new report that recounts progress made toward greater equity in the COVID-19 vaccination campaign and proposes steps to advance gains further.

The CommuniVax Coalition released 2 new local reports that share findings from rapid research about COVID-19 vaccination within African American/Black communities in Virginia.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and The Council on Foreign Relations released a new report urging governments, multilateral and international institutions, and private actors to act immediately to strengthen planning for future pandemic vaccines by incorporating lessons learned from successes and failures of the current global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.

The CommuniVax Coalition released a new local report that shares findings from rapid research within Hispanic/Latino communities in Baltimore, Maryland.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and the NACDS released a new report highlighting the vital role of pharmacies in advancing healthcare access before and during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Tener Goodwin Veenema, PhD, MPH, MS, FAAN, was elected to the National Academy of Medicine.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security released a new report outlining how the federal government can introduce policies that promote a sustainable mask market aimed at improving mask quality and supply and to save lives.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security joined 24 stakeholder organizations to submit a letter to Congressional leaders to support the $16 billion funding level for pandemic preparedness included in Division J of the Build Back Better Act.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security released a new report identifying the mental health and wellbeing challenges faced by healthcare and hospital workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, even in the presence of dedicated employee resources being available.

The CommuniVax Coalition released 7 new local reports that share findings from local rapid research within Black and Hispanic/Latino communities in Alabama, California, Idaho, Maryland, and Virginia.

Dr. Tara Kirk Sell provided expert testimony at a hearing at the Maryland State Senate on safely returning to in-person K-12 school today.

Dr. Caitlin Rivers begins a secondment at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help establish the new Center for Epidemic Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security strongly supports and endorses the Disease X Act introduced by U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin and co-sponsors U.S Senator Bob Casey, U.S. Senator Angus King and U.S. Senator Tina Smith.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, Tuscany Strategy Consulting, and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation have released a 2021 addendum to their report “COVID-19 Planning Guide and Self-Assessment for Higher Education Globally.”

Anita Cicero, JD, provided expert testimony at a congressional hearing about lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The CommuniVax Coalition released a new report that outlines findings from local research within Black and Hispanic/Latino communities in Alabama, California, Idaho, Maryland, and Virginia and provides specific guidance to government officials on adapting COVID-19 vaccination efforts to achieve greater vaccine coverage in underserved populations and, through this, to develop sustainable, locally appropriate mechanisms to advance equity in health.

Advances in the biological sciences bring about wellbeing for humanity, but the same advances could be misused, particularly for the development and proliferation of biological weapons.

Dr. Gigi Gronvall provided expert testimony at a hearing at the California State Assembly on gene synthesis security today.

As the U.S. Congress continues to respond to and begin recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, they must also prepare for the next pandemic, which could appear at any time.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security joined 24 other stakeholder organizations to submit a letter of support to strongly encourage Congressional leaders to invest $30 billion over 4 years to better protect Americans from future pandemics.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity, the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health, and the Johns Hopkins Center for Public Health and Human Rights at the Bloomberg School of Public Health announce the publication of a new supplemental issue of the peer-reviewed journal Health Security on systemic racism, US health security, and COVID-19.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security released a new report calling on kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) school administrators to urgently invest in ways to provide healthy air in schools to increase safety during the COVID-19 pandemic and potential future respiratory disease outbreaks, as well as to improve student learning.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security has been awarded a $400,000 USD grant from The Rockefeller Foundation to identify and showcase successful country responses to COVID-19, in partnership with Exemplars in Global Health.

The fight against COVID-19 is not over. This pandemic has taught painful lessons about the need for clarity and consistency across institutions and jurisdictions about invoking crisis standards of care (CSC) and the disproportionate impact COVID-19 has had on historically minoritized and marginalized populations.

Caitlin Rivers, PhD, provided testimony at a congressional hearing on the variants SARS-CoV-2 that have emerged and the urgent need to continue to scale up genomic sequencing of COVID-19 cases in the United States.

Experts from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security are working with the new COVID Commission Planning Group led by the University of Virginia’s Miller Center of Public Affairs.

Dr. Gigi Gronvall provided expert testimony at a hearing at the California State Assembly on gene synthesis security today.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security released a new report calling on the United States to address the problem of health misinformation and disinformation through a national strategy, to ensure both an effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to prepare for the challenges of future public health emergencies.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and the Regional Centre for Biotechnology of the Department of Biotechnology in the Indian Ministry of Science and Technology co-hosted the seventh United States–India Strategic Dialogue on Biosecurity.

Dr. Gigi Gronvall provided expert testimony at a hearing at the Maryland General Assembly on gene synthesis providers and manufacturers of gene synthesis equipment.

Dr. Crystal Watson provided expert testimony at a congressional hearing on perspectives about the COVID-19 pandemic one year later.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security has released a new special feature in the journal Health Security. This special feature is part of the WHO joint call for articles on infodemics with 5 leading peer-reviewed journals in different fields.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and its partners, the NPR and Partners In Health, have released data on contact tracers and care resource coordination from their latest joint survey on the state of the national coronavirus contact tracing workforce.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security released a new report on the status of SARS-CoV-2 surveillance, sequencing, and variant characterization and actions the U.S. government should take to increase capacity to respond to new virus variants.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security launched a new website providing essential information for all organizations seeking to engage in COVID-19 testing—from large businesses planning to bring workers back to the office, to schools returning to in-person learning, to youth camps, recreational sport clubs and more.

The Working Group on Equity in COVID-19 Vaccination, CommuniVax released a new report on the actions that state and local officials should take to implement and support a vaccination campaign that works with Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities to remedy COVID-19 impacts, repair the social inequity magnifying health burdens, and propel lasting opportunities and benefits in these communities.

Every day, genetic engineering techniques are used to solve critical challenges in agriculture, manufacturing, and medicine.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and its partner, the National Public Radio (NPR), have released findings from their second joint survey on the state of the national coronavirus contact tracing workforce.

The crisis is now: governors, health departments, hospitals, and other health care sector partners must take immediate action to save lives and fairly allocate limited resources.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security at the Bloomberg School of Public Health announces the launch of CommuniVax, a coalition to strengthen the community’s role and involvement in an equitable vaccination campaign.

A bipartisan assembly of Governors representing 1 in 3 Americans issued support for a Call to Action to Defeat COVID-19 and Promote National Recovery and Renewal, developed and released by the COVID Collaborative, which includes the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. 

Changes are urgently needed in the U.S. criminal justice system to diminish the risk of COVID_19 transmission and provide the standard of care to those who have been infected with this disease

As schools across the country strive to safely return to in-person classes, a new report provides the first application of a detailed framework to provide guidance to America’s school administrators on how best to screen for, and stop or reduce the spread of, Covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2) in their schools.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, alongside 4 bipartisan US senators and 3 former federal government public health officials have launched a new educational initiative: The Capitol Hill Steering Committee on Pandemic Preparedness & Health Security.

Gigi Gronvall, PhD, and Jennifer Nuzzo, DrPH, SM, briefed congressional members on the Department of Defense’s (DOD) response to the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security released a new report providing an ethical framework for making decisions about allocation and distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine during the initial period when such a vaccine has first been authorized for use and is still in limited supply.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security at the Bloomberg School of Public Health and its partner, the National Public Radio (NPR), have released findings from a new survey on the state of the national coronavirus contact tracing workforce.

Dr. Caitlin Rivers provided testimony at a congressional hearing on public health considerations for reopening schools for in-person learning.

The Center for Health Security has released a new report describing concrete policy actions and reporting of data at the U.S. federal, state and local levels necessary to stem the rise of COVID-19 in the face of a resurgence that is stressing many sectors of society, from businesses to education to health care.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, Texas State University, and the Working Group on Readying Populations for COVID-19 Vaccine released a new report providing recommendations to US policymakers and practitioners on how to advance public understanding of, access to, and acceptance of future vaccines that would protect against COVID-19.

Putting effective systems in place to reduce health and economic impacts is a challenge made considerably more difficult during a large disease outbreak.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health has released a new report assessing the promise and challenges posed by at-home diagnostic technologies for infectious diseases, especially for COVID-19 and influenza.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security has released a new report that provides recommendations for the U.S. government and states for performing serosurveys (antibody studies) for SARS-CoV-2 infections with the goal of deriving value from them in a national action plan.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, Tuscany Strategy Consulting, and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation have released a new guide and accompanying self-assessment calculator designed to provide practical planning resources to help higher education institutions gauge how effectively they are addressing a range of COVID-19 scenarios.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security released a new report that identifies gaps and inadequacies in the U.S. health system that have contributed to a lack of pandemic readiness in the nursing workforce.

Gigi Gronvall, PhD, provided testimony at a congressional subcommittee briefing on COVID-19 antibody testing.

The Center for Health Security has released a new report that makes recommendations for the responsible governance of gene drives. The Center advocates that these recommendations be addressed before gene drives become a used and normalized tool.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security has released a new report calling for a national mandate to prioritize and fund research about children and COVID-19 so that governors, school districts, teachers, parents, and guardians can make informed decisions about reopening schools in the United States. 

Dr. Tom Inglesby shared a statement at a hearing held by the new US House of Representatives Oversight and Reform Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security has released a new tool to help business owners who are considering reopening or expanding their operations to determine their establishments’ risk of transmission of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 and how to reduce it.

Caitlin Rivers, PhD, provided testimony at a congressional hearing on the COVID-19 response.

Dr. Tom Inglesby, provided testimony at an open roundtable hearing on COVID-19.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security has released a new report: “National Action Plan for Expanding and Adapting the Healthcare System for the Duration of the COVID Pandemic.”

Today’s COVID-19 pandemic is an undeniable example of an increasing global trend of deadly infectious disease outbreaks. More than 200,000 people are dead, communities are shut down, and huge economic losses are occurring around the world.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security has released a new report: “Developing a National Strategy for Serology (Antibody Testing) in the United States.”

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security has released a new report to provide public health principles to governors for a phased economic reopening: “Public Health Principles for a Phased Reopening During COVID-19: Guidance for Governors.”

The Center for Health Security and its partner, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), have released a new report: “A National Plan to Enable Comprehensive COVID-19 Case Finding and Contact Tracing in the US.”

Dr. Tara Kirk Sell provided testimony at a hearing held by the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

Dr. Tom Inglesby provided testimony at an open congressional hearing on COVID-19.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security has accepted 30 professionals and scholars into its Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Initiative (ELBI) fellowship program for 2020.

Dr. Jennifer Nuzzo provided testimony at the first open congressional hearing on the 2019-nCoV outbreak.

In October 2019, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security hosted a pandemic tabletop exercise called Event 201 with partners, the World Economic Forum and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The next severe pandemic will not only cause great illness and loss of life but could also trigger major cascading economic and societal consequences that could contribute greatly to global impact and suffering.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security has been officially designated as a “Collaborating Centre for Global Health Security” by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

A new Global Health Security Index released today, the first comprehensive assessment and benchmarking of health security and related capabilities across 195 countries, suggests that not a single country in the world is fully prepared to handle an epidemic or pandemic.

Former and current global business, government, and public health leaders will play a team of high-level decision makers convened to recommend actions to diminish the large-scale economic and societal consequences of a fictional outbreak of a severe pandemic scenario in the upcoming Event 201.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security was commissioned by the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB) to assess the state of readiness for a high-impact respiratory pathogen pandemic.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in partnership with the World Economic Forum and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will host a global pandemic exercise called “Event 201” on Friday, October 18, 2019, in New York City.

The Center for Health Security and the Tianjin University Center for Biosafety Research and Strategy co-hosted an event that brought together leading experts and emerging leaders from China and the US to discuss the ways that synthetic biology may alter the social and economic frameworks of modern humanity.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and Gingko Bioworks convened key science, technical, academic, and industry experts for a meeting to solicit stakeholder input on specific ways that national policy can strengthen the US bioeconomy.

Gigi Gronvall, PhD, and her colleagues, Diane DiEuliis, PhD, and Amanda Moodie, MA, scholars at the Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction, prepared a document to be submitted to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) by the United States at the Meeting of Experts on Review of developments in the field of science and technology.

Experts from the Center for Health Security are honored to participated in and present at the upcoming Global Health Security 2019 conference in Sydney, Australia, June 18-20.

The Center recently co-hosted the 2019 meeting of the Strategic Multilateral Dialogue on Biosecurity with the Thailand Ministry of Public Health Department of Disease Control in Phuket, Thailand.

To date, the pharmaceutical response to emerging infectious diseases and bioterrorism has been characterized by a “one bug, one drug” approach, where specific medical countermeasures—effective vaccines and therapeutics—are developed, manufactured, and deployed, explain experts in a new report from the Center for Health Security.

A new report by a team of researchers at the Center for Health Security reframes the discussion of the most severe biological threats to provide policy advocates with an additional tool to help them catalyze expansive international support for work on pandemic prevention and response.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security has accepted 30 professionals and scholars into its Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Initiative (ELBI) fellowship program for 2019.

A bipartisan group of US House members introduced The Global Health Security Act today in an effort to reaffirm US commitment to promoting global health security.

A delegation of staff from the Center for Health Security is attending the 2018 Meeting of States Parties to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWC) at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, from December 4-7.

Scholars from the Center for Health Security joined an international group of more than 40 science and technical experts at a three-day meeting in the UK to consider new approaches for preventing, managing, and mitigating the most serious biological threats.

Successful containment of the ongoing Ebola virus disease outbreak in the DRC hinges on the return to the region of US CDC personnel and an immediate ramping up of international financial commitments to the WHO, write two Center for Health Security researchers in an article in the New England Journal of Medicine.

As governments throughout the world develop and implement national action plans to increase their capacities to prevent, detect, and respond to health emergencies, experts at the US CDC and partners are working to develop a scientifically grounded evidence base of effective and measurable global health security interventions that can help guide future efforts.

In extensive comments about the ongoing outbreak of Ebola in the DRC, Robert Redfield, MD, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, emphasized that security concerns in the region are the preeminent factor hindering US response.

The Trump administration’s proposed FY2019 budget would cut funding for health security–related programs by 4%, or $636 million, according to researchers at the Center for Health Security.

Nancy Connell, PhD, has been invited to serve a 4-year term on the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) of the National Institutes of Health.

Strategic investment in 15 promising technologies could help make the world better prepared and equipped to prevent future infectious disease outbreaks from becoming catastrophic events.

At the latest meeting in a series of international biosecurity dialogues hosted by the Center for Health Security, conversations on scientific and policy issues related to South Asia followed a pragmatic theme: infectious disease outbreaks are inevitable, pandemics are optional.

Investments in global health security programs at the federal level directly benefit US national security and the economy by helping to prevent the cross-border spread of infectious disease outbreaks in other countries.

Biosecurity risks to Southeast Asia stem from the region’s highly dynamic human-animal-environmental interface, a growing threat from terrorist groups, and the increased prevalence of advanced biotechnology.

Remarks delivered by Gigi Gronvall, PhD, on August 9, 2018, at the Meeting of Experts on Review of developments in the field of science and technology related to the United Nations Biological Weapons Convention.

Faculty at the Center for Health Security have developed a new degree track at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health for US and international students who are passionate about taking a leadership role in preventing, detecting, and responding to epidemics and other disasters.

Crystal Watson, DrPH, has been accepted into the Council on Foreign Relations Stephen M. Kellen Term Member Program, which offers promising young leaders the opportunity to participate in a sustained conversation on international affairs and US foreign policy.

Effective communication is vital to ensuring people’s safety during all types of public health emergencies—from Ebola and Zika to hurricanes and wildfires.

The outbreak of a moderately contagious and moderately lethal novel pathogen precipitated a catastrophic end to the scenario in Clade X, the day-long pandemic tabletop exercise hosted by the Center for Health Security on May 15.

Infectious disease preparedness work focuses predominantly on an historical list of pathogens derived from biological warfare agents, political considerations, and recent outbreaks.

An agreement between Johns Hopkins University and the CEPI US positions the two organizations for a new collaboration and for research and practice opportunities related to the pursuit of new vaccines for unmet infectious disease threats.

Former high-ranking US government officials and a current US congresswoman will play a team of presidential advisors tasked with leading the policy response to a fictional outbreak scenario in the upcoming Clade X pandemic tabletop exercise hosted by the Center for Health Security.

India and the United States would benefit from a shared approach to encourage scientific innovation while preventing the misuse of cutting-edge research, say biosecurity experts from those 2 countries.

The health sector in the US would be far better positioned to manage medical care needs during emergencies of any scale by empowering existing healthcare coalitions to connect community resilience efforts with a network of hospitals equipped to handle disasters, according to a new report by the Center for Health Security.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security has accepted a diverse group of 28 professionals and scholars into the 2018 class of the Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Fellowship (ELBI) program.

At a US Senate committee hearing on the reauthorization of landmark public health preparedness legislation, Center for Health Security Director Tom Inglesby, MD, highlighted key initiatives that ought to be policy priorities for lawmakers when they consider how the United States can better prepare for and respond to a range of major public health threats.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security has received a $399,000 grant from The Rockefeller Foundation to create a resilience checklist and implementation guide that health systems can use to assess whether they are prepared to maintain essential functions during an emergency.

Rapid advancements in biotechnology necessitate more strategic collaboration between the US and India on issues of biosecurity, say experts from those 2 countries who met this fall as part of an ongoing bilateral dialogue convened by the Center for Health Security.

A delegation of staff from the Center for Health Security is attending the 2017 Meeting of States Parties to the BWC at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.

Additional US government funding to support the Global Health Security Agenda is needed to protect the world from epidemic disease, write three authors from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in a JAMA article published this week.

The Center for Health Security will host a pandemic tabletop exercise on May 15, 2018, to illustrate high-level strategic decisions and policies that the US and the world will need to pursue in order to prevent a severe pandemic, or diminish its consequences should prevention fail.

Strategic changes to government policy would present new opportunities for pharmacies in the US to expand their already important role in critical initiatives that benefit public health.

Experts from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security are available to media for interviews on the centennial of the 1918 influenza pandemic.

The Center for Health Security has released a self-guided exercise scenario for public health communicators and risk communication researchers eager to deepen their understanding of the communication dilemmas that could arise when medical countermeasures are developed and distributed during a pandemic.

In June 2017, the Center for Health Security in partnership with Drew Endy, PhD, brought together 32 emerging biosecurity leaders from all over the world for a fellowship program at the 7th International Meeting on Synthetic Biology (SB7.0) in Singapore.

The Center for Health Security has published the first working definition of Global Catastrophic Biological Risks (GCBRs) to place new focus on a special category of biological risks that have received too limited research and effort given their potential for harm to humanity.

The Center for Health Security gathered biosecurity experts from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the US at a meeting to identify shared priorities that underscore the dynamic and challenging biosecurity issues facing countries in Southeast Asia.

More than 50 public and private sector biosecurity stakeholders gathered at a meeting convened by the Center for Health Security to engage in a discussion about US biodefense capabilities and offer recommendations for the forthcoming National Biodefense Strategy and Implementation Plan.

Even the most serious health security threats facing the US and the world will remain far from intractable with continued federal investment in the people and programs on the front lines of preparedness.

A new report by the Center for Health Security has found that proposed funding in President Donald Trump’s budget request for FY2018 would cut health security programs by an estimated $1.25 billion, or 9 percent.

Researchers from the Center for Health Security and the US CDC have developed an evidence-informed checklist that outlines action steps for medical and public health officials to assess and strengthen the resilience of their community’s health sector to high-consequence infectious disease events.

The Center for Health Security has become a member of the JEE Alliance, an international platform that facilitates engagement among all public and private organizations involved in the World Health Organization’s health preparedness assessment process that uses the Joint External Evaluation tool.

The Center for Health Security has been awarded a three-year, $16 million grant from the Open Philanthropy Project to support the Center’s work on strengthening health security and public health preparedness and on preventing and preparing for the most serious global biological risks.