Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense

July 22, 2025 - In this meeting, the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense explores: (1) core requirements for effective national biodefense; (2) Administration biodefense priorities; (3) impacts of department and agency realignment; and (4) strategies for addressing future biological threats.   Speakers include: Michael Place, MD (Major General, US Army – Retired) – Former Chief of Staff, Office of...

This Commission meeting, Astrobiodefense: Biological Threats and the Next Frontier, was held on May 8, 2025. The focus of this meeting will be to provide the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense with a better understanding of how to strengthen international astrobiodefense and planetary protection efforts through: (1) current government astrobiodefense efforts; (2) new scientific and technological...

The Commission's May 8, 2025 meeting began with Executive Director Dr. Asha M. George delivering the first annual State of National Biodefense address. The increasing biological threat and uncertainty surrounding federal biodefense programs and capabilities necessitates a clear-eyed examination of the threat and US efforts to address critical capability gaps. This address will lay out the current...

This Commission meeting, Under the Weather: The Nexus of Climate Change and Biodefense, was held on Thursday, December 5, 2024 at 58 East 68th St., New York, NY 10065. The focus of this meeting was to provide the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense with a better understanding of: 1) the effects of climate change on human health and one health, 2) the future implications of migration and shifting d...

The Commission meeting, FLUency: True Expertise and Effectiveness in the Battle Against Influenza, was held on Tuesday, October 8th, in Washington, DC. The focus of this meeting is to provide the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense with a better understanding of: (1) national leadership to defend food and agriculture against influenza; (2) federal operational requirements for preparedness, coordin...

In this meeting, the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense will explore: (1) how the federal government currently addresses indoor air quality; (2) new scientific and technological advances for indoor air quality; and (3) how enhancing indoor air quality can help prevent the spread of pathogens. Learn more here: https://biodefensecommission.org/events/masters-of-the-air-overcoming-airborne-pathogens...

We all lost a visionary leader and friend with the unexpected passing of Senator Joe Lieberman, who along with Governor Tom Ridge co-chaired the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense for ten years. His death came just as the Commission was preparing to release our 2024 National Blueprint for Biodefense: Immediate Action Needed to Defend Against Biological Threats. Senator Lieberman, who worked tirel...

This meeting was recorded on Tuesday, December 5, 2023. Find more information about this meeting here: Meeting the Moment: Biodefense Policy, Procurement, and Public Health - Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense (biodefensecommission.org) As the Nation continues to endure the consequences of recent pandemics, and with continued interest in biological weapons by nation states and other enemies, the...

In this meeting, the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense will explore: (1) state and local efforts to strengthen public health and biodefense; (2) special security management of biological threats to mass gatherings; and (3) efforts to understand and mitigate the agricultural impact of biological threats to plants and animals. Learn more here: https://biodefensecommission.org/events/no-checkered-f...

As the biological threat continues to evolve, biological intelligence gathering, analysis, and dissemination activities must increase to keep pace with the advances of our adversaries. At this upcoming meeting, the Commission intends to further explore the expanding nature of the biological threat, the federal biological intelligence enterprise, and information sharing with non-federal governments...

In this upcoming meeting, the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense intends to further explore the prevention, deterrence, and attribution of biological threats. The discussion will delve into how these critical elements of biodefense can be improved through technology, policy, and coordination. This meeting will inform the Commission’s refresh of the National Blueprint for Biodefense, which we will...

Recorded on Tuesday, March 21, 2023 In this meeting, the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense further explores preparedness needs and efforts, new solutions to improve biosurveillance, and data modernization. The discussion delves into how preparedness coordination between federal and state efforts can be better harmonized and how the nation can best ensure having eyes on the ground during the emer...

Seven years after the release of the Commission’s National Blueprint for Biodefense, the Nation remains critically unprepared for future biological events, which threaten to strain resources and impact government efforts to address threats like COVID-19. At this meeting, the Commission intends to further explore challenges for biodefense response, recovery, and mitigation capabilities at all level...

On Thursday, September 22, 2022 the Commission held an in-person meeting - Banding Together: Partnerships for Biodefense. The Commission delved into how to optimize partnerships to defend against biological threats, a critical enabler of success identified in its report released earlier this year, The Athena Agenda: Advancing The Apollo Program for Biodefense . The meeting examined what is needed...

On Tuesday, May 3, 2022 the Commission convened an in-person meeting to provide the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense with a better understanding of: (1) biological incidents that affect homeland and national security; (2) roles and responsibilities of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in addressing biological threats; and (3) opportunities to enhance national biodefense.   See more info...

On Tuesday, March 22, 2022, the Commission convened for an in-person meeting to provide a better understanding of: (1) the expanding landscape of current and future biological threats; (2) the roles and responsibilities of the federal government in assess and preparing for various biological threats; and (3) biological weapons, bioterrorism, and biological arms races. More information on the event...

The Commission’s baseline 2015 report,  A National Blueprint for Biodefense: Leadership and Major Reform Needed to Optimize Efforts , warned that the United States was inadequately prepared for biological threats. Six years later, the U.S. experience with COVID-19 continues to validate our original findings. The Commission’s January 2021 report,  The Apollo Program for Biodefense: Winning the Race...

In its 2015 report,  A National Blueprint for Biodefense: Leadership and Major Reform Needed to Optimize Efforts , the Commission addressed inadequacies of BioWatch, the Department of Homeland Security environmental biodetection program. Established in 2003, the federal government intended for BioWatch to provide early warning of biological attacks on major metropolitan areas. However, after nearl...

NOTE: This event was prerecorded on June 15, 2021. In its 2015 report, A National Blueprint for Biodefense: Leadership and Major Reform Needed to Optimize Efforts, the Commission identified the need to safeguard pathogen and advanced biotechnology information against cyber-attacks and illicit access. Due to the increasing convergence of cyber and biological sciences, in September 2019, the Commiss...

On March 23, 2021, we premiered a virtual meeting of the Commission to further explore the of the first responder community and how the federal government can better support non-federal response to future biological incidents. The Commission’s 2018 report,  Holding the Line on Biodefense: State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Reinforcements Needed , focused on federal assistance to state, local, t...

On September 24, 2020, we premiered a virtual meeting of the Commission to address emerging biological threats and innovative science and technology solutions to address them. The ongoing novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is revealing major gaps in national readiness to prepare for, respond to, and recover from biological threats. Decision makers must consider enhancements to policies and...

On July 21, 2020, the Commission premiered   a virtual meeting to help us better understand the potential for COVID-19’s reemergence, the country’s efforts to track the spread of the disease, and national readiness to address future biological threats. More information about this meeting, including a full agenda, is available here.

On May 8, 2020, we premiered a virtual meeting of the Commission to better understand the ongoing response to novel coronavirus 2019, national readiness to address possible large-scale spread of the disease in the United States and throughout the world, and implications for improving preparedness for the next biological threat. More information about this meeting, including a full agenda, is avail...

On Wednesday, February 12th, U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs held a roundtable hearing titled, “Are we Prepared? Protecting the U.S. from Global Pandemics.” The purpose of this roundtable was to examine the nation’s level of preparedness against current and future pandemic threats, particularly in the context of the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak that originated i...

On Monday, February 10th, the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense and Hudson Institute hosted a panel discussion on the ongoing coronavirus outbreak and how the United States can respond to the growing outbreak effectively.  More information about this meeting is available here .