Events

We convene expert working groups, congressional seminars, scientific meetings, conferences, and tabletop exercises to stimulate new thinking and provoke action.

Titles link to event pages that include an overview and the agenda, speaker list, photos, and videos (or transcripts).

2019

Event 201

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in partnership with the World Economic Forum and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation hosted Event 201, a high-level pandemic exercise on October 18, 2019, in New York, NY. The purpose of the exercise was to illustrate the pandemic preparedness efforts, response decisions, and cooperation required from global businesses, governments, and public health leaders that the world will need to diminish the large-scale economic and societal consequences of a severe pandemic.

October 18, 2019

Biosafety and Biosecurity in the Era of Synthetic Biology: Meeting the Challenges in China and the United States

On Friday, July 26, 2019, the Johns Hopkins 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, both positive and negative, that synthetic biology may alter the social and economic frameworks of modern humanity.

July 26, 2019

The US Bioeconomy: Maximizing Opportunities for Economic Growth and National Security with Biology

On July 16, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and Ginkgo Bioworks convened a meeting in Washington, DC, to solicit stakeholder input on specific ways that national policy can strengthen the US bioeconomy. The aims of the meeting were to consider the benefits to the US if its bioeconomy were to be expanded; examine the current health of the US bioeconomy; discuss existing US government programs, policies, and initiatives related to the bioeconomy; and identify priorities for strengthening the US bioeconomy.

July 16, 2019

Multilateral Biosecurity Dialogue with Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the United States

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. The three-day convening began on April 28 and brought together current and former senior government officials, policymakers, and other biosecurity experts from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and the United States.

April 29 - May 1, 2019

Gene Synthesis Governance Meeting

With support from the Open Philanthropy Project, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security hosted a one-day meeting on April 9, 2019 in Washington, DC to discuss the 2010 US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) guidelines for providers of double stranded synthetic DNA. Invited speakers and audience members discussed potential steps that the US government and provides could take to increase biosecurity in gene synthesis.

April 9, 2019

Project page: Policy Options for Gene Synthesis

US-India Strategic Dialogue on Biosecurity, India

In February 2019, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security hosted the sixth dialogue on biosecurity between senior experts and leaders from the United States and the Republic of India. The purposes of this dialogue are to increase knowledge of prevention and response efforts for natural, deliberate, and accidental biological threats in India and the United States; to look for new synergies and share best practices and innovations; to examine opportunities for partnership and collaboration; to develop and deepen relationships between dialogue participants; and to identify issues that may warrant being brought to the attention of the Indian or US government.

February 21-22, 2019

2018

Global Forum on Scientific Advances Important to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention

The first annual Global Forum on Scientific Advances Important to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, hosted by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, addressed rapidly emerging advancements in biology and biotechnology and their impact on bioweapons nonproliferation policy.

December 3, 2018

Conference Fellowship on Biosecurity and Synthetic Biology

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security offered an expenses-paid biosecurity fellowship opportunity in conjunction with SynBioBeta 2018: The Global Synthetic Biology Summit. The program is sponsored by the Open Philanthropy Project.

October 1-4, 2018

US-India Strategic Dialogue on Biosecurity, Washington, DC

In September 2018, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security hosted the fifth dialogue on biosecurity between senior experts and leaders from the United States and the Republic of India. The purposes of this dialogue are to increase knowledge of prevention and response efforts for natural, deliberate, and accidental biological threats in India and the United States; look for new synergies and share best practices and innovations; examine opportunities for partnership and collaboration; develop and deepen relationships between dialogue participants; and identify issues that may warrant being brought to the attention of the Indian or US government.

September 6-7, 2018

Global Health Security Strategy, Meeting to Gather Input and Recommendations

To gather broad input on the forthcoming US Global Health Security Strategy, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security convened more than 70 public and private sector global health security stakeholders for a meeting on July 30, 2018, in Washington, DC. The purpose of the meeting was for stakeholders to engage in discussion regarding the US Global Health Security Strategy and provide recommendations to the USG for this strategy.

July 30, 2018

Global Health Security in South Asia

On July 10, 2018, in Washington, DC, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security hosted a meeting on global health security in South Asia. The goal of the meeting was to discuss health security challenges in South Asia and to identify opportunities for implementation of health security initiatives.

July 10, 2018

Meeting report: Global Health Security in South Asia (PDF)

Clade X

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security hosted the Clade X pandemic tabletop exercise on May 15, 2018, in Washington, DC. The purpose of the exercise was to illustrate high-level strategic decisions and policies that the United States and the world will need to pursue in order to prevent a pandemic or diminish its consequences should prevention fail.

May 15, 2018

Ebola Conference at NIH in Washignton, DC

April 24-25, 2018

Multilateral Biosecurity Dialogue with Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the United States

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security conducted a Track II multilateral biosecurity dialogue between Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the United States—with observers from the Philippines and Thailand—in Nusa Dua, Indonesia on April 18-20, 2018. Dialogue topics included national biosecurity priorities as well as ongoing and emerging biosecurity threats facing Southeast Asia countries, ranging from emerging infectious diseases to advances in biotechnology to bioterrorism.

April 18-20, 2018

A Framework for Healthcare Disaster Resilience in a Changing Healthcare Landscape

The report, “A Framework for Healthcare Disaster Resilience: A View to the Future,” was released at a February 22 event at the National Press Club.

February 22, 2018

PMAC Side Event: The Value of Multilateral Engagement and a Global Health Security Index in Reducing the Threat Posed by Emerging Infectious Diseases:

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security moderate a panel discussion with participants involved in an ongoing SE Asian Biosecurity Dialogue between Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, and the United States. This is a unique "Track 2" (non-Ministerial level) diplomatic dialogue that promotes engagement to improve national and regional response to natural, accidental, and deliberate biological events.

January 30, 2018

2017

India-US Strategic Dialogue on Biosecurity, Washington DC

In November 2017, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security hosted the third meeting of a Track II dialogue (i.e. a non-governmental engagement) on biosecurity between the United States and the Republic of India. The meeting was held in Washington, DC, and featured subject matter experts in biosecurity, biosafety, the life sciences and biotechnology, medicine, public health, geopolitics, and regional security.

November 6-7, 2017

Congressional Seminar on priorities for US-funded health security programs

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and Trust For America’s Health (TFAH) hosted a Capitol Hill seminar on priorities for US-funded health security programs that attracted nearly 100 Congressional staffers and other stakeholders from inside and outside government.

June 29, 2017

Meeting to Solicit Stakeholder Input on Forthcoming 2017 National Biodefense Strategy

More than 50 public and private sector biosecurity stakeholders gathered at a meeting convened by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security on June 22 in Washington, DC, to engage in a discussion about US biodefense capabilities and offer recommendations for the forthcoming National Biodefense Strategy and Implementation Plan.

June 22, 2017

Multilateral Strategic Dialogue on Biosecurity

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security hosted a multilateral biosecurity dialogue meeting with subject matter experts from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the United States. This is the second year of the multilateral dialogue, and observers from Philippines and Thailand were added to build upon the success of previous dialogues through expanding the geographic representation.

April 3-5, 2017

India-US Biosecurity Dialogue II

The Center for Health Security hosted the second meeting of a bilateral biosecurity dialogue between delegates representing the United States and India. The meeting took place in New Delhi, India and included discussions on the biosecurity landscapes of the US and India, the life sciences and biotechnology, biosafety-strengthening efforts at laboratories, risk assessment, biological threat characterization, and cross-sector collaboration for mitigating biological threats.

February 8-9, 2017

2016

Synthetic Biology Book Launch

Synthetic biology aims to make biology easier to engineer and to program. Thanks to advances in computing power, the ability to make long tracts of DNA, new tools like CRISPR that can be used to edit genomes, and the enthusiasm of young scientists and even amateurs who want to enter the field, synthetic biology is poised to change the future of medicine, agriculture, and manufacturing.

November 2, 2016

Assessing Countries’ Global Health Security Capabilities

From June 20-July 2, 2016, a six-person External Assessment Team from the Center for Health Security met with governmental leaders in Taipei, Taiwan to conduct an independent assessment of Taiwan’s capabilities under the Internal Health Regulations (2005) and its related progress toward the “Protect, Detect, and Respond” goals of Global Health Security Agenda.

October 19, 2016

South Africa Delegation Meeting

The Center hosted a delegation from South Africa and exchanged views on health security issues facing both countries.

October 6, 2016

India-US Biosecurity Dialogue

The Center for Health Security hosted the first meeting of a bilateral biosecurity dialogue between delegates representing the United States and India. The meeting took place in Washington, DC and included discussions on the biosecurity landscapes of the US and India, development of medical countermeasures, the life sciences and biotechnology, biosafety-strengthening efforts at laboratories, risk assessment, and cross-sector collaboration for mitigating biological threats.

September 20-21, 2016

GHSA assessment of Taiwan

The Center for Health Security met with governmental leaders in Taiwan to kick-off a project to assess Taiwan’s progress toward the “Protect, Detect, and Respond” goals of Global Health Security Agenda.

March 29 – April 1, 2016

Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Initiative: 2016 Workshop

The 2016 Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Initiative held its spring workshop in Washington DC and Fredrick MD, where they met with federal leaders responsible for the nation’s biosecurity.

March 14-16, 2016

Congressional Seminar: The Zika Virus Outbreak – What is Needed for a Successful US Response?

CDC Director Dr. Tom Freiden provided an overview of the Zika outbreak and what the US is doing to respond.

March 1, 2016

2015

Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Initiative: 2015 Workshop

The 2015 ELBI Fellows recently attended a workshop in the United Kingdom which was co-hosted by King’s College London and held at the UK Defence Academy near Swindon.

August 3-6, 2015

Multilateral Strategic Dialogue on Biosecurity, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, United States

The UPMC Center for Health Security hosted the first meeting of a multilateral biosecurity dialogue between partners representing the United States, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

June 24-25, 2015

Congressional Ebola Forum

Building Resilient Communities: Ebola and Global Health Crises – Where We Need to Go

February 15, 2015

2014

Singapore–US Strategic Dialogue on Biosecurity II

The UPMC Center for Health Security led a Track II Biosecurity Dialogue between Singapore and the US in Singapore.

November 12-13, 2014

Congressional Seminar on the Ebola Outbreak: What's needed to end this crisis?

The UPMC Center for Health Security hosted a Congressional Seminar on Ebola for Hill staff and other stakeholders. Leaders from CDC, USAID, DOD, and Fondation Mérieux spoke.

September 24, 2014

Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Initiative: 2014 Workshop

The Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Initiative held its fall workshop at the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta.

September 8-9, 2014

Singapore–US Strategic Dialogue on Biosecurity

The UPMC Center for Health Security led a Biosecurity Dialogue between Singapore and the US in Washington DC.

June 10-11 , 2014