collaboration between SecureBio and MIT

**The world is demonstrably vulnerable to biological threats.** COVID-19 represented significant disruption, but emerging pandemics could prove substantially more severe. Protecting civilization requires systems capable of detecting novel pandemic pathogens before widespread transmission—including those without known precursors.

SecureBio Detection was founded in 2021 as the Nucleic Acid Observatory project in MIT’s Sculpting Evolution group, before spinning out under SecureBio. Our mission involves creating new disease surveillance methods for identifying pandemic threats, particularly pathogens potentially resistant to conventional or anticipated surveillance frameworks.

Our strategy combines:

- **Models and experiments** assessing large-scale monitoring effectiveness
- **Novel computational approaches** enabling reliable, early threat identification
- **Operational systems** validating methods through real-world pilot deployment

Explore our [research](https://securebio.org/resources/), review [career opportunities](https://securebio.org/careers/), or consider [financial support](https://securebio.org/donate/).

## Research Areas [Anchor](https://securebio.org/detection/\#research-areas)

### Evaluating biosurveillance approaches [Anchor](https://securebio.org/detection/\#evaluating-biosurveillance-approaches)

_Understanding & comparing large-scale monitoring approaches_

Disease surveillance employs diverse detection methodologies. For us, identifying sensitive, dependable, and economical pathogen-agnostic approaches represents the central challenge. Through modeling, analysis, and empirical investigation, we evaluate comparative effectiveness—prioritizing municipal and airplane wastewater sources.

### Computational threat detection [Anchor](https://securebio.org/detection/\#computational-threat-detection)

_Designing new methods to detect pathogens in sequencing data_

Identifying emerging pathogens requires distinguishing target sequences from complex microbial backgrounds. Our researchers develop and refine computational tools for recognizing threatening organisms in sequence datasets, emphasizing temporal growth pattern analysis.

### Piloting early warning [Anchor](https://securebio.org/detection/\#piloting-early-warning)

_Putting our research into practice_

We are deploying a functional early warning demonstration, initially targeting specific threat categories before expanding capabilities. Through iterative refinement and operational learning, we integrate research insights into comprehensive threat detection.

SecureBio Detection, founded 2021, operates under SecureBio. Contact: detection-inquiries@securebio.org