Next Generation Biosecurity: Responding to 21st Century Biorisks

Explore biosecurity and learn how to respond to biological threats

Today’s world is facing more biological threats than ever, from mutations to antibiotic resistance to new diseases and increased access to engineered diseases. It’s vital that scientific research is being carried out safely to protect those who work in the lab as well as wider communities.

On this course you will get an introduction to these issues, exploring biosecurity, biological threats and how to counter them in your work. You will also learn about responding to biological challenges and learn to examine issues in the lab.

This course is for professionals working in public and global health, international security, politics and international relations. It may be of particular use to biosafety officers in academia, industry or government, and early-career science scholars in the life sciences.

This course is for professionals working in public and global health, international security, politics and international relations. It may be of particular use to biosafety officers in academia, industry or government, and early-career science scholars in the life sciences.

• Understand and explain the need for laboratory biosafety and biosecurity, and what these entail
• Describe the biosecurity challenges facing the 21st century, especially as the revolution in life sciences continues
• Discuss how biosecurity policies, practices and guidelines are developed at international and national levels and how to contribute to these processes
• Identify areas of security and ethical concern within the life sciences and reflect on strategies and approaches to deal with them as they arise
• Summarise what it means to be safe in the lab, how to apply these principles and what to expect from others to keep you and the community safe from accidental and deliberate actions