SOS:BIO - Assessing U.S. Biosafety and Biosecurity Compliance for Potential Pandemic Pathogen Research and Dual Use Research of Concern

understanding of biosafety and biosecurity personnel and scientific researchers (a specialized part of the U.S. scientific workforce) with oversight responsibilities or research involving Potential Pandemic Pathogens (PPPs) and Dual Use Research of Concern (DURC) in various sectors (academic, industry, government, amateur science) in the United States. The research will focus on assessing this knowledge based upon the recommendations for biosafety and biosecurity enhancements to the U.S. scientific research enterprise who fall under the U.S. Government Potential Pandemic Pathogen Care and Oversight (P3CO) policy and the U.S. Government Policy for Institutional Oversight of Life Sciences Dual use Research of Concern. We aim to: (1) examine and create a baseline understanding of the knowledge of biosafety and biosecurity practices for PPP and DURC research by biosafety/biosecurity personnel and scientific researchers, and particularly from those who specialize in DURC/PPP research across the United States; (2) explore what gaps/shortcomings exist in DURC/P3CO policies and in working-level knowledge and practices; and (3) identify recommendations for improvements to strengthen the implementation of P3CO and DURC policies for biosafety/biosecurity practitioners and scientific researchers conducting this research. By doing so, this project will create new baseline assessments of the state of DURC/PPP biosafety/biosecurity knowledge among biosafety practitioners and researchers, as well as proactively identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement in the current and future implementation of DURC and P3CO policies. For this study, we plan to use a combination of data collection methods: (1) a large-n survey sent to a minimum of 15,000 individuals working in the biosafety profession (comprising representatives from academia, industry, government, and amateur science) in the United States; (2) a follow-on survey sent to 110 biosafety professionals and scientific researchers who work on PPP and DURC pathogens; (3) a set of deliberative workshops with targeted biosafety practitioners and regulators; (4) individual interviews with approximately 30 biosafety professionals and scientific researchers working on PPP and DURC pathogens; and (5) desk research and interviews for indepth cases of institutions that conducted PPP research or have large Biological Safety Level 3 (BSL-3) and/or 4 (BSL-4) facilities conducting DURC or PPP