A PROPOSED FRAMEWORK FOR
IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL BIODEFENSE
VULNERABILITIES POSED BY SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY:
INTERIM REPORT
Committee on Strategies for Identifying and Addressing Biodefense
Vulnerabilities Posed by Synthetic Biology
Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology
Board on Life Sciences
Division on Earth and Life Studies
A Consensus Study Report of
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, DC
www.nap.edu
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This project was supported by Contract No. HQ0034-16-C-0062 between the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Department of Defense. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the view of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.
Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/24832
Copyright 2017 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. A Proposed Framework for Identifying Potential Biodefense Vulnerabilities Posed by Synthetic Biology: Interim Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: https://doi.org/10.17226/24832.
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COMMITTEE ON STRATEGIES FOR IDENTIFYING AND ADDRESSING BIODEFENSE VULNERABILITIES POSED BY SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY
Members
MICHAEL IMPERIALE (Chair), University of Michigan Medical School
PATRICK BOYLE, Ginkgo Bioworks
PETER A. CARR, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory
DOUGLAS DENSMORE, Boston University
DIANE DIEULIIS, National Defense University
ANDREW ELLINGTON, The University of Texas at Austin
GIGI KWIK GRONVALL, Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security
CHARLES HAAS, Drexel University
JOSEPH KANABROCKI, The University of Chicago
KARA MORGAN, Battelle Memorial Institute
KRISTALA JONES PRATHER, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
THOMAS SLEZAK, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
JILL TAYLOR, Wadsworth Center
Staff
MARILEE SHELTON-DAVENPORT, Study Director
KATHERINE BOWMAN, Senior Program Officer
JO HUSBANDS, Scholar/Senior Project Director
JENNA OGILVIE, Research Associate
JARRETT NGUYEN, Senior Program Assistant
Sponsor
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
NOTE: See Section on Disclosure of Conflict of Interest.
Acknowledgment of Reviewers
This Consensus Study Report was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published report as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.
We thank the following individuals for their review of this report:
GARY ACKERMAN, University of Maryland
HARVEY BLANCH, University of California, Berkeley
NANCY D. CONNELL, Rutgers University
JAMES DIGGANS, Twist Bioscience
ANITA JONES, University of Virginia
JAY D. KEASLING, University of California, Berkeley
PIERS MILLET, Future of Humanity Institute
KAREN E. NELSON, J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI)
GERALD PARKER, Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
DAVID WALT, Tufts University
HENRY WILLIS, The RAND Corporation
Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations of this report nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Michael Ladisch of Purdue University. He was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with the standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the authoring committee and the National Academies.
Contents
Biotechnology and Synthetic Biology
Synthetic Biology in the Context of Biodefense
Approach to Developing the Framework
Uses and Limitations of the Framework
ROWS IN THE FRAMEWORK: TECHNOLOGIES AND APPLICATIONS TO ASSESS
COLUMNS IN THE FRAMEWORK: FACTORS FOR ASSESSING CONCERN
Factors to Assess Capability for Malicious Use
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