Pandemics have been among history's deadliest disasters. The Black Death killed half of Europe. The 1918 flu claimed up to 100 million lives. HIV has killed 33 million people. COVID-19 showed that despite modern medicine, we remain vulnerable to novel pathogens.

Beyond natural pandemics, some actors have weaponised biological knowledge. In the 20th century, multiple nation states built biological weapons programmes. Terrorist groups and lone actors have pursued bioweapons. Today, rapid advances in AI and synthetic biology are creating new opportunities to engineer dangerous pathogens.

Yet our vulnerability isn't inevitable. Just as cities once prone to devastating fires are now largely protected, we can build robust defences against pandemic threats.

In the first unit, you'll explore the history of pandemics and bioweapons programmes, and examine how emerging technologies like AI and synthetic biology are changing the threat landscape.

Throughout the rest of the course, you'll explore the defensive layers in detail, from preventing engineered threats and detecting outbreaks early, to rapidly deploying countermeasures. By the end, you’ll develop your own action plan for contributing to biosecurity.


The history of pandemics and bioweapons

The future of pandemics and bioweapons?

Towards a pandemic-proof world

**Imagine the year is 2050 and the world is much more pandemic-proof than it is today. What kinds of technologies, policies and organisations exist, and how might we get there?**

We encourage you to use your existing expertise, as well as taking inspiration from the ‘Pandemic Prevention as Fire-Fighting’ article or other research. 

This is only a starting point and we don’t expect comprehensive answers – use this as a brainstorming exercise to think of a broad range of ideas. We’ll dig deeper into some of these interventions later in the course.

Things you might want to consider:

**What could a day in your life look like?**
- What technologies might you interact with that prevent you catching or transmitting pathogens?

**What could we copy from emergency preparedness and response in other settings (fire, war, cyber etc.)?**
- Are there analogous technologies, policies or organisations in those areas that we could build in the biosecurity space?

**Which existing technologies would make the world significantly more pandemic-proof if produced and distributed globally?**
- How might we scale up production and incentivise  global distribution of these technologies?

Consider grouping your ideas into outbreak prevention, detection and response (note these categories aren’t always clear-cut!).


Envisaging a pandemic-proof world

These are both great (and long!) overviews of biosecurity. Recommended reading if you'd like to dig deeper.


Optional resources

Biosecurity

Building biodefences is both urgent and achievable: pandemics have killed millions, AI and synthetic biology are creating new threats, but a radically more pandemic-proof world is possible.

Building a Pandemic-Proof World

Examine upstream interventions that stop threats before they emerge: AI safeguards, DNA synthesis screening, the Biological Weapons Convention, lab biosafety standards, and governance of risky research.

Preventing Engineered Pandemics

Learn how metagenomic sequencing can detect novel pathogens, how to rapidly characterise emerging threats, and how swift containment can stop transmission before widespread outbreaks.

Detecting and Containing Early Infections

Discover pathogen-agnostic defences deployable within hours: next-generation PPE, far-UVC air treatment, and biohardening strategies that protect people before we know what we're facing.

Rapid Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions

Explore how to accelerate vaccine development, and how broad-spectrum antivirals can treat multiple threats before pathogen-specific treatments exist.

Rapid Medical Countermeasures

Map the biosecurity landscape and identify where your specific skills can contribute: organisations hiring across policy and technology, concrete projects seeking talent, and pathways into the field.

Biosecurity

The history of pandemics and bioweapons

Resources (40 mins)