Event Summary

On February 21, AEI’s Center for Technology, Science, and Energy hosted an event on the science and governance of risky pathogen research. M. Anthony Mills of AEI introduced and moderated the first panel, featuring Marc Lipsitch of the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and Gustavo Palacios of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, who joined remotely. The panelists discussed different kinds of pathogen experiments and their risks and benefits, why scientists might want to pursue such experiments and the tradeoffs involved, what alternative approaches exist, and the ongoing need for definitional clarity in the debate.

Texas A&M University’s Gerald Parker introduced and moderated the second panel, featuring Greg McKelvey Jr. of the RAND Corporation, Alan Slobodin of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Carrie D. Wolinetz of Lewis-Burke Associates. The panelists provided an overview of the regulations and policies that have governed biorisk management from the 1970s to the present, new challenges and opportunities posed by artificial intelligence technology, and current congressional oversight inquiries. Both panels concluded with an audience Q&A.

—Price St. Clair

Event Description

The COVID-19 pandemic has renewed public interest in gain-of-function (GOF) research of concern on pathogens of pandemic potential. Are laboratory experiments to make pathogens more transmissible or virulent necessary for scientific progress? Do such experiments pose unacceptable risk? As Congress and the executive branch consider regulatory reforms, we sorely need constructive, evidence-based discussions of the benefits and drawbacks of GOF research of concern, including which policy changes best serve the public interest.

Please join AEI and distinguished guests for a two-part conversation examining the science and policy of GOF research of concern. Panelists will grapple with issues related to biosecurity and risk, pandemic preparedness, oversight and the role of Congress, scientific freedom and ethical responsibility, and possible avenues for reform.

Agenda

2:45 p.m.
Welcome and Introduction:
M. Anthony Mills, Director, Center for Technology, Science, and Energy, American Enterprise Institute

2:50 p.m.
Panel I: Science, Security, and Risk

Panelists:
Marc Lipsitch, Professor of Epidemiology, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health
Gustavo Palacios, Professor of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Moderator:
M. Anthony Mills, Director, Center for Technology, Science, and Energy, American Enterprise Institute

3:50 p.m.
Break

4:00 p.m.
Panel II: Regulation, Oversight, and Politics

Panelists:
Greg McKelvey Jr., Senior Researcher, RAND Corporation
Alan Slobodin, Majority Chief Investigative Counsel, House Committee on Energy and Commerce
Carrie D. Wolinetz, Chair of the Health and Bioscience Innovation Policy Practice Group, Lewis-Burke Associates

Moderator:
Gerald Parker, Director, Pandemic and Biosecurity Policy Program, Texas A&M University

5:00 p.m.
Adjournment

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