Biosecurity concerns: Changing the face of academic research

Abstract

The need for biodefense research in the wake of the anthrax attacks that followed 9/11 is changing the nature of research and the manner in which it is conducted on University campuses. A huge federal investment in biodefense is leading to more applied research conducted in high containment laboratories on college campuses. Biosecurity concerns are starting to exceed those of biosafety. Compliance with the many new oversight regulations is challenging to the research and safety communities. A series of legal cases discussed in this paper show that compliance is essential—the government is serious about criminal prosecution. The focus of biosecurity is not only on safeguarding dangerous pathogens and toxins; it also is directed to information and knowledge that may be misused. Systems are being developed that will force the academic safety community to determine what information is dangerous and what knowledge must be constrained.