What are the responsibilities and job description for the Expression of Interest position at Effective Altruism Global?
SARS-CoV-2 has demonstrated that the world is profoundly vulnerable to biological threats. Unfortunately, there is reason to believe that future pandemics could be far worse. Due to rapid advances in biotechnology, the number of people able to create and release dangerous pathogens will quickly increase over the coming years. The world is unprepared for widespread access to such powerful technology.
To defend ourselves against these dangers, we must begin preparation now. SecureBio’s in-house team of researchers and technologists work with experts in academia, industry and government to develop new technologies and policy proposals to delay, detect, and defend against any catastrophic pandemic, whether natural or engineered.
Together, we can create a future that is secure against the threat of pandemic pathogens. If you want to help build that future, consider reading more about our projects and publications, or applying to our open positions.
Our approach
Effectively securing the world against biological threats requires a three-pronged approach.
Browse our work
Delay
Denial & deterrence can slow the spread of capabilities
Causing harm requires blueprints and materials as well as know-how. By restricting proliferation of dangerous pathogen genomes, screening synthesis of custom DNA, and deterring actors capable of sharing new hazards, we can buy time to implement effective pandemic defenses.
Detect
Reliable early response requires reliable early warning
Early detection of outbreaks can profoundly reduce the harm they cause, but existing biosurveillance methods are often slow and unreliable. To reliably detect any future pandemic, we need new tools and techniques capable of robust, pathogen-agnostic early detection.
Defend
The most reliable way to protect against pandemics is to prevent infection
Developing new vaccines and therapeutics is extremely expensive and unacceptably slow. To reliably defend against an unknown future pandemic, we must look beyond biomedicine, to physical and institutional interventions that can block transmission and ensure civilizational resilience.
Our projects
Detection
SecureBio’s Detection project aims to pioneer reliable, pathogen-agnostic early warning of future pandemics through deep, untargeted metagenomic sequencing. Where other biosurveillance programs are focused on known pathogens like SARS-CoV-2, we’re focused on detecting new and unknown pathogens as sensitively and reliably as possible – including those with very long incubation times or that otherwise evade detection. That means taking a new approach to infectious disease monitoring, including the development of novel experimental and computational tools.
Learn more
AI and Biotechnology Risks
AI’s ability to accelerate scientific discovery may also aid malicious actors in creating biological threats. SecureBio is developing evaluation tools to assess the potential of AI systems to exacerbate these risks, as well as exploring mitigation strategies to address them. A member of the NIST US AI Safety Consortium, SecureBio partners with model developers, non-profit groups, and policymakers to improve oversight of frontier AI models through collaborations in technology and policy.
Learn more
Physical Defenses: Pioneering Far-UVC and Pandemic-Proof PPE
Our efforts to delay and detect outbreaks need to be supplemented with effective physical defenses to protect essential workers. SecureBio has worked to identify and advocate for viable paths toward affordable pandemic-proof personal protective equipment (PPE) that will reliably protect against deadly pathogens. To further suppress transmission in indoor spaces, SecureBio has worked on coordination to develop and test far-UVC technology, which uses low-wavelength light to safely neutralize airborne pathogens in indoor environments. SecureBio is not currently pursuing any active research or work in this domain.
Learn more
SecureDNA
Founded as a collaboration between academics and developers in the US, China and Europe, the SecureDNA initiative develops fast, secure, and comprehensive software for screening DNA synthesis orders. Recently spun out into an independent Swiss foundation, SecureDNA aims to provide reliable, free, privacy-preserving, and politically-neutral screening services to providers and device manufacturers across the world.
Learn more
To defend ourselves against these dangers, we must begin preparation now. SecureBio’s in-house team of researchers and technologists work with experts in academia, industry and government to develop new technologies and policy proposals to delay, detect, and defend against any catastrophic pandemic, whether natural or engineered.
Together, we can create a future that is secure against the threat of pandemic pathogens. If you want to help build that future, consider reading more about our projects and publications, or applying to our open positions.
Our approach
Effectively securing the world against biological threats requires a three-pronged approach.
Browse our work
Delay
Denial & deterrence can slow the spread of capabilities
Causing harm requires blueprints and materials as well as know-how. By restricting proliferation of dangerous pathogen genomes, screening synthesis of custom DNA, and deterring actors capable of sharing new hazards, we can buy time to implement effective pandemic defenses.
Detect
Reliable early response requires reliable early warning
Early detection of outbreaks can profoundly reduce the harm they cause, but existing biosurveillance methods are often slow and unreliable. To reliably detect any future pandemic, we need new tools and techniques capable of robust, pathogen-agnostic early detection.
Defend
The most reliable way to protect against pandemics is to prevent infection
Developing new vaccines and therapeutics is extremely expensive and unacceptably slow. To reliably defend against an unknown future pandemic, we must look beyond biomedicine, to physical and institutional interventions that can block transmission and ensure civilizational resilience.
Our projects
Detection
SecureBio’s Detection project aims to pioneer reliable, pathogen-agnostic early warning of future pandemics through deep, untargeted metagenomic sequencing. Where other biosurveillance programs are focused on known pathogens like SARS-CoV-2, we’re focused on detecting new and unknown pathogens as sensitively and reliably as possible – including those with very long incubation times or that otherwise evade detection. That means taking a new approach to infectious disease monitoring, including the development of novel experimental and computational tools.
Learn more
AI and Biotechnology Risks
AI’s ability to accelerate scientific discovery may also aid malicious actors in creating biological threats. SecureBio is developing evaluation tools to assess the potential of AI systems to exacerbate these risks, as well as exploring mitigation strategies to address them. A member of the NIST US AI Safety Consortium, SecureBio partners with model developers, non-profit groups, and policymakers to improve oversight of frontier AI models through collaborations in technology and policy.
Learn more
Physical Defenses: Pioneering Far-UVC and Pandemic-Proof PPE
Our efforts to delay and detect outbreaks need to be supplemented with effective physical defenses to protect essential workers. SecureBio has worked to identify and advocate for viable paths toward affordable pandemic-proof personal protective equipment (PPE) that will reliably protect against deadly pathogens. To further suppress transmission in indoor spaces, SecureBio has worked on coordination to develop and test far-UVC technology, which uses low-wavelength light to safely neutralize airborne pathogens in indoor environments. SecureBio is not currently pursuing any active research or work in this domain.
Learn more
SecureDNA
Founded as a collaboration between academics and developers in the US, China and Europe, the SecureDNA initiative develops fast, secure, and comprehensive software for screening DNA synthesis orders. Recently spun out into an independent Swiss foundation, SecureDNA aims to provide reliable, free, privacy-preserving, and politically-neutral screening services to providers and device manufacturers across the world.
Learn more