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Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense — Government
Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense

The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense at Atlantic Council is a privately funded entity established in 2014 to provide for a comprehensive assessment of the state of U.S. biodefense efforts and to issue recommendations that will foster change.

From 2014-2015, the Commission convened four public meetings in Washington, DC on biological threat awareness, prevention and protection, surveillance and detection, and response and recovery. Current and former Members of Congress, former Administration officials, state and local representatives, thought leaders, and other experts provided their perspectives on current biodefense efforts, including strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities. While much good work has been achieved toward biodefense, these meetings have revealed systemic challenges in the enterprise designed to protect Americans from biological events.

The Commission continues to advocate for uptake of these recommendations at the highest levels of American government, through additional meetings, reports, and other activities, and is the only such body of bipartisan, former high-level policymakers to do so.

Copyright: © Copyright 2021 All rights reserved.

Latest Episodes:

Biodefense in Crisis: Danger and Opportunity Aug 06, 2025

Show notes

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 the Surgeon General, US Army Command, US Army
Erica Pan, MD, MPH – Director and State Public Health Officer, California Department of Public Health
Alex Hamberg, VMD, PhD – State Veterinarian, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture
Clint Osborn – Director, District of Columbia Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency
Lori Tremmel Freeman, MBA – Chief Executive Officer, National Association of County and City Health Officials
Tina Tan, MD, FIDSA, FPIDS, FAAP – President, Infectious Disease Society of America
Ali S. Khan, MD, MPH – Dean, College of Public Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center
Richard J. Hatchett, MD – Chief Executive Officer, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations
Matthew Hepburn, MD – Executive Vice President, Research and Development, Panther Life Sciences
Leonard J. Marcus, PhD – Co-Director, National Preparedness Leadership Initiative, Harvard University
Taylor Sexton, MPH – Executive Director, Medical Countermeasures Coalition
David Stiefel, MA – Director, Global Biological Policy and Programs, Nuclear Threat Initiative
Joe Buccina, MA, MS– Policy and Research Director, National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology
Patricia R. Bright, DVM – Former Senior Science Advisor, One Health/Global Health Security, US Geological Survey

Learn more here: https://biodefensecommission.org/events/biodefense-in-crisis-danger-and-opportunity/

Astrobiodefense: Biological Threats and the Next Frontier May 16, 2025

Show notes

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 advances for astrobiodefense; and (3) collaborative efforts and public-private partnerships to improve astrobiodefense.

See more information here: https://biodefensecommission.org/events/astrobiodefense-biological-threats-and-the-next-frontier/

2025 State of Biodefense - Remarks by Dr. Asha M. George May 16, 2025

Show notes

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 realities of national biodefense and the Commission’s vision for a future where the Nation can more effectively prevent, deter, prepare for, detect, respond to, attribute, recover from, and mitigate biological incidents.

Read her written testimony here: https://biodefensecommission.org/the-state-of-u-s-biodefense-written-remarks-by-dr-asha-m-george/

Under the Weather: The Nexus of Climate Change and Biodefense Dec 10, 2024

Show notes

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 disease patterns, and 3) policy considerations to reduce the inevitable impacts of climate change on biodefense.

Learn more here: https://biodefensecommission.org/events/fluency-true-expertise-and-effectiveness-in-the-battle-against-influenza-2/

FLUency: True Expertise and Effectiveness in the Battle Against Influenza Oct 16, 2024

Show notes

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, coordination, and response; (3) biosurveillance, forecasting, and the need for diagnostic tests; and (4) front-line needs and partnerships in the fight against influenza.

Learn more here: https://biodefensecommission.org/events/fluency-true-expertise-and-effectiveness-in-the-battle-against-influenza-2/

Masters of the Air: Overcoming Airborne Pathogens Indoors Jul 30, 2024

Show notes

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-indoors/

A Tribute to Senator Lieberman with the Release of the 2024 National Blueprint for Biodefense May 14, 2024

Show notes

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 tirelessly to defend Americans against biological threats, was a driving force behind this report. So, it is only fitting that we host a special tribute to Senator Lieberman as we publicly release the new National Blueprint for Biodefense.

The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense (formerly the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense) was established in 2014 to provide a comprehensive assessment of the state of United States biodefense efforts and to issue recommendations that foster change. Subsequently, the Commission has briefed White House Administrations (including then Vice President Biden); testified before Congress; convened numerous meetings with experts; released 12 reports; produced the graphic novel Germ Warfare; and mobilized biodefense conversations and actions in the private and public sectors.

In its  2015 bipartisan report,  A National Blueprint for Biodefense: Leadership and Major Reform Needed to Optimize Efforts, the Commission described biological threats to the Nation and made 33 recommendations to optimize US efforts to prevent, deter, prepare for, detect, respond to, attribute, recover from, and mitigate intentionally introduced, accidentally released, and naturally occurring biological events. Many recommendations from this report have been taken up by the government, including the National Biodefense Strategy, a federal biodefense budget crosscut by the Office of Management and Budget, and the recent Biodefense Posture Review by the Department of Defense.

The world continues to experience rising threats from offensive biological weapons programs, lab accidents, and outbreaks affecting our national security. There have been burgeoning biotechnological advances in medical countermeasures (e.g., antibiotics, antivirals, vaccines, diagnostics) yet huge gaps in prevention, deterrence, preparedness, detection, response, attribution, recovery, and mitigation still remain. The federal government must address gaps in the US biodefense enterprise. Nine years after its seminal report, the Commission is releasing the 2024 National Blueprint on Biodefense with specific recommendations for government leaders in Congress and the Administration to strengthen the federal government’s biodefense posture.

Learn more here: A Tribute to Senator Lieberman with the Release of the 2024 National Blueprint for Biodefense - Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense (biodefensecommission.org)

Meeting the Moment: Biodefense Policy, Procurement, and Public Health Dec 11, 2023

Show notes

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 federal government has an opportunity to address vulnerabilities in the biodefense enterprise. At this meeting, titled Meeting the Moment: Biodefense Policy, Procurement, and Public Health, the Commission intends to further explore : (1) biodefense policies and activities at the Department of Defense; (2) federal stockpile evaluation and decision-making for smallpox medical countermeasures; (3) needed authorities of the Department of Health and Human Services, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and (4) biodefense leadership.

No Checkered Flag: The Perpetual Race Against Biological Threats Oct 10, 2023

Show notes

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-flag-the-perpetual-race-against-biological-threats/

Speakers will include:

Governor Eric J. Holcomb

Virginia A. Caine, MD, Director and Chief Medical Officer, Marion County Public Health Department

Kristina Box, MD, Former Indiana State Health Commissioner

Tory Castor, JD, Senior Vice President of Governmental Affairs, Indiana University Health

Sergeant Robert Brown Jr., Program Manager, Counter-WMD (CBRNE) Unit, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department

Special Agent Casey P. Farrell, Weapons of Mass Destruction Coordinator, Indianapolis, Federal Bureau of Investigation

Julia Vaizer, MD, Medical Director, Indianapolis Motor Speedway

John Ball, Vice President, Security and Event Services, Pacers Sports & Entertainment

Darcy E. P. Telenko, PhD, Associate Professor of Plant Pathology, Purdue University

Bret D. Marsh, DVM, Indiana State Veterinarian, Indiana State Board of Animal Health

Paul Ebner, PhD, Professor of Animal Sciences, Purdue University

Solving the Puzzle: Biological Intelligence and Information Sharing Aug 02, 2023

Show notes

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.

See here for more information: Solving the Puzzle: Biological Intelligence and Information Sharing - Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense (biodefensecommission.org)

Speakers include:

The Honorable Kenneth L. Wainstein – Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis, Department of Homeland Security

Dr. Paul Friedrichs – Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Global Health Security & Biodefense, National Security Council, The White House; former Joint Staff Surgeon, Department of Defense

Marina Mayo – Section Chief, Countermeasures and Mitigation, Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate, Federal Bureau of Investigation

Dr. William T. “Thom” Burnett – Chief Scientist, National Center for Medical Intelligence, Department of Defense

Dr. Chris Rodriguez – Director, District of Columbia Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency

Joshua Bushweller – Director, Delaware Information & Analysis Center, Delaware State Police

Colin Mulloy – Deputy Director, Kansas Intelligence Fusion Center

Judith Harrison – Assistant Chief, Counterterrorism Division, New York City Police Department

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