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Biosecurity and Emerging Threats Research - Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
webpublichealth.jhu.edu·publichealth.jhu.edu/departments/environmental-health-and...
Relevant to AI safety researchers concerned with biosecurity as a catastrophic risk domain, particularly regarding AI-enabled bioweapon development and the governance frameworks needed to address dual-use threats.
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Summary
This page outlines the biosecurity and emerging threats research program at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Department of Environmental Health and Engineering. The program focuses on understanding and mitigating risks from biological threats, including natural pandemics, bioterrorism, and engineered pathogens. It represents an institutional hub for public health-oriented biosecurity science and policy.
Key Points
- •Johns Hopkins BSPH conducts research on biosecurity threats including natural outbreaks, bioterrorism, and emerging infectious diseases.
- •The program bridges technical public health science with policy implications for biosecurity governance and preparedness.
- •Research addresses both naturally occurring and potentially engineered biological threats, relevant to AI-enabled biosecurity risks.
- •Institutional expertise spans surveillance, threat assessment, and countermeasure development for biological hazards.
- •Relevant to AI safety discussions around dual-use research, bioweapons risk, and the intersection of AI capabilities with biosecurity.
Cited by 1 page
| Page | Type | Quality |
|---|---|---|
| Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security | Organization | 63.0 |
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[Johns Hopkins UniversityEst. 1876\\
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America’s First Research University](https://150.jhu.edu/)
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**Our research aims to advance science, policy and practice in addressing a range of emerging threats including the global rise of emerging infectious diseases with pandemic potential; major natural or technological disasters; and intentional use of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear materials as weapons. We work toward building sustainable public health and healthcare systems that can reduce the physical, mental, and societal impacts of these threats and hazards.**
## Research Highlights
### COPEWELL: A Conceptual Framework and System Dynamics Model for Predicting Community Functioning and Resilience After Disasters
Policy-makers and practitioners have a need to assess community resilience in disasters. Prior efforts conflated resilience with community functioning, combined resistance and recovery (the components of resilience), and relied on a static model for what is inherently a dynamic process. [We sought to develop linked conceptual and computational models of community functioning and resilience after a disaster.(link is external)](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/disaster-medicine-and-public-health-preparedness/article/copewell-a-conceptual-framework-and-system-dynamics-model-for-predicting-community-functioning-and-resilience-after-disasters/61A75E17B3D48D2E8141539054896DAF "(opens in a new window)") We developed a system dynamics computational model that predicts community functioning after a disaster. The computational model outputted the time course of community functioning before, during, and after a disaster, which was used to calculate resistance, recovery, and resilience for all US counties.
### Global Catastrophic Biological Risks: Toward a Working Definition
The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security is [working to analyze and deepen scientific dialogue regarding potential global catastrophic biological risks (GCBRs)(link is external)](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5576209/ "(opens
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