Detection overview

Detection deep-dive

Option 1: Country-specific biosurveillance

Option 2: Metagenomic sequencing technology roadmap

Option 3: Rapid individual testing

AI x Biosecurity

Prevention overview

Prevention deep-dive

Option 1: AI safeguards

Option 2: DNA synthesis screening

Option 3: Preventing irrevocable bioweapon uplift

Option 4: Governance of risky biological research

Intro

The history of pandemics and bioweapons

The future of pandemics and bioweapons?

Towards a pandemic-proof world

[Optional] Biology 101 for biosecurity

[Optional] Biosecurity overviews

Rapid MCM overview

Rapid MCM development deep-dive

Option 1: Faster R&D

Option 2: Clinical trials innovation

Option 3: Better financing and procurement

Option 4: Faster manufacturing and delivery

Your next steps

Choose your focus

Biosecurity project ideas

Create your 1-pager

Next steps: Technical fellowships

Next steps: Policy fellowships

Next steps: Career resources

Next steps: Programs

NPI overview

NPI deep-dive

Option 1: Pandemic-proof PPE

Option 2: Biohardening indoor spaces

**Blocking transmission prevents outbreaks from becoming pandemics, keeps society running through the ones that do, and gives policymakers low-regret options between doing nothing and shutting everything down.**

Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) such as lockdowns and masks are mostly pathogen agnostic, therefore they can be prepared beforehand and deployed within hours of discovering an emerging pandemic.

Lockdowns would almost certainly be necessary in the early days of any catastrophic pandemic. But they are a blunt tool, and we would still need to protect critical workers to provide healthcare, food, water and electricity.

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is a key part of this. As of 2022, the US Strategic National Stockpile only had [enough N95 respirators to cover essential workers for 10-20 days](https://fas.org/publication/resilience-caches-reusable-respirators/#:~:text=Some%20illustrative%20math%3A%20there%20are%20approximately%2050%20million%20essential%20workers%20in%20the%20United%20States%2C%20but%20as%20of%202022%20our%20Strategic%20National%20Stockpile%20only%20had%20about%20540%20million%20disposable%20N95%20respirators.%20This%20is%20barely%20enough%20to%20last%2010%20days). Many other countries are in similar or worse conditions.

We can also do more to prevent pathogen transmission in indoor spaces. Air filtration would be valuable in a pandemic scenario, but can also have massive health and productivity benefits in non-pandemic times. Far-UVC and glycol vapours are also being explored as promising technologies to reduce indoor pathogen transmission, although we don’t yet have conclusive studies on their safety and efficacy.


Pick 1 of the following 2 topics to dive deeper into. We've given you some resources on the following pages as a starting point.

- **Option 1: Pandemic-proof PPE**
- **Option 2: Biohardening indoor spaces**

Aim to answer the following questions:
- What are the intended goals of this intervention?
- What is the current state of this intervention?
- What are the technical or policy blockers to having the intervention ready to deploy effectively in a pandemic?

You will bring the results of your research to share in your group discussion.


This option focuses on two technologies, far-UVC and glycol vapours.

**Far-UVC**

Early lab studies indicate that far-UVC is effective at reducing airborne pathogen transmission and safe for humans, but real-world data is needed. This technology isn’t rapidly scalable in the event of a pandemic, so would rely on people installing it in peacetime to control common infections like colds and flu.

**Glycol vapours**

Studies on glycol vapours are more nascent. Propylene glycol (PG) vapour is used in theatrical fog and e-cigarettes, but also has antimicrobial properties. It’s unlikely that people would want theatre fog in their offices all the time, but it could be rapidly manufactured and deployed in the event of a pandemic.


Biosecurity

Option 1: Pandemic-proof PPE

Resources