Securing Bioproduction against an Evolving Threat Landscape
Friday, March 22, 2024
Hopkins Bloomberg Center
Rooms 426, 428, 430
555 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington DC
Zoom link will be provided to everyone who registers as a virtual attendee
Advances in AI are changing the threat landscape in many fields, including in the field of biology. With AI assisted design tools, the complexity and obfuscation potential of the synthetic biological materials is expected to increase. Conversely, the same AI advances can be deployed to help screen DNA/RNA synthesis requests before they can be used for malicious purposes. This workshop seeks insight on current and future advances that will shape both the threat and countermeasure landscapes and prepare the community for the changing threat landscape. The workshop seeks perspectives from academia, industry, and government.
Format
Short talks based on abstract submissions (10-20 Minutes)
Discussions / breakout group topics:
- Improving data resources supporting risk estimation
- How to define a threat or Sequence of Concern?
- How to keep pace with AI advancements (both taking advantage positively but also protecting against new threats)?
- What datasets are useful for training models and how do any inaccuracies in the data affect the resulting systems?
- Who should maintain these resources? With what money?
- Which resources can be shared internationally? If some cannot be shared, how do we maintain screening parity in the face of discrepant data access?
- Improving algorithmic screening
- Creating tools for safe, secure, and trustworthy biodesign
- Development of efficient algorithms for oligo pool screening
- How to keep pace with AI advancements (both taking advantage positively but also protecting against new threats)?
- What is the appropriate level of per-base spending the market can bear?
- Should/could governments subsidize screening costs?
- Would government involvement in screening costs create concern for non-US customers?
- Improving human decision-making
- What visualization strategies are most effective at enabling rapid decision-making?
- How can visualization strategies reduce reviewer fatigue?
- How can organizations train and test staff to achieve uniform outcomes in screens across reviewers?
- How can AI help reduce risks?
- Improving governing regulatory policies
- What useful data standards, standard methodologies, and tools can help create and verify the performance of synthesis screening systems?
- What role should governments play in determining the regulatory status of AI-designed constructs?
- Cyber/data security nexus
- Cyberbiosecurity
- How to enforce cyber requirements in bio labs?
- How do you protect the sequence information that is being screened?
Schedule
Friday, March 22, 2024
| Date / Time (EDT) | Activity / Title | Author(s) / Speaker(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 0830 – 0930 | Registration | |
| 0930 – 0945 | Welcome | Organizing Committee |
| 0945 – 0950 | Opening Remarks | Dr. Gopal Sarma, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) |
| 0950 – 1000 | Strengthening Gene Synthesis Screening | Melissa Hopkins, Health Security Policy Advisor & Assistant Scientist, Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security |
| 1000 – 1015 | Discussion | |
| 1015 – 1030 | Coffee break | |
| 1030 – 1130 | Talks | |
| Defining and disclosing sequences of concern: perspectives from IBBIS | Tessa Alexanian and Nicole Wheeler | |
| Securing Nucleic Acid Synthesis: Customer screening as a generalizable capability | Kyle Webster | |
| A Conserved Residue Knowledge (CoRK) Approach to Developing AI-Proof Function of Concern Signatures | Jacob Beal and Cassie Bryan | |
| 1130 – 1230 | Working Session 1 | |
| 1230 – 1330 | Lunch | |
| 1330 – 1430 | Talks | |
| The Importance of Functional Annotation for Understanding Sequence Biothreats | Gene Godbold, Pascale Gaudet, Matthew Scholz, Anthony Kappell, Todd Treangen and Krista Ternus | |
| DNA Security for Digital Biosecurity | Sterling Sawaya | |
| Trustworthy Additive Biomanufacturing of Human Tissues in Adversarial Environments | Saman Zonouz, Nicholas Guise, and Vahid Serpooshan | |
| 1430 – 1530 | Working Session 2 | |
| 1530 – 1545 | Coffee break | |
| 1545 – 1630 | Discussion and Future Plans | |
| 1630 – 1700 | Closing remarks |
Abstract Submissions
We will select short talks based on 1-2 page abstracts (format of your choice). Abstracts will be compiled and distributed as a product of the meeting.
Submission site: EasyChair
Deadline: Friday, March 8, 2024 (if you need an extension please get in touch)
Registration
There is no cost to attend the workshop.
Organizing committee: Aaron Adler, Joel Bader, James Diggans, Helen Scott, Kemper Talley, Nicole Wheeler, Fusun Yaman