UK Biosecurity Leadership Council

The UK Biosecurity Leadership Council is an expert advisory group of leading academics and industry figures from across the engineering biology, life science and biotech sectors.

The UK Biosecurity Leadership Council (BLC) was set up in 2023 by the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). The UK BLC provides government with impartial and expert advice on emerging risks around biosecurity and how to encourage responsible behaviour in this area.

Background

Engineering biology is one of the five critical technologies being pursued by the UK Government. The UK’s engineering biology sector has the potential to grow at tremendous speed to grow the economy and is one of the most exciting new frontiers in science.

Engineering biology describes the application of rigorous engineering principles to biology, enabling the construction of new or redesigned biological systems, such as cells or proteins. It has the potential to change the way we grow food, create medical treatments and produce the fuel we need to run our cars, homes and offices. In 2023, DSIT published the  National Vision for Engineering Biology which outlines government’s collective ambition for engineering biology and sets the direction in which government investment, policy and regulatory reform will deliver through the strands of the Science and Technology Framework.

Responsible and trustworthy innovation is a key strand of the National Vision for Engineering Biology. Responsible and trustworthy innovation aims to ensure that unintended negative impacts of engineering biology are avoided, that barriers to dissemination, adoption and diffusion of research and innovation are reduced, and that the positive societal and economic benefits of research and innovation are fully realised. To achieve this, we are working to reduce biosecurity risks, create a safe and secure ecosystem and harness a culture of responsibility.

The Biosecurity Leadership Council (BLC) is a key commitment in the 2023 UK Biological Security Strategy. The BLC brings together academics, industry and government to discuss responsible use of engineering biology. As set out in the Biological Security Strategy and the National Vision for Engineering Biology, the UK is committed to becoming a world leader in responsible innovation, shaping international norms and standards. The BLC is a critical part of delivering this ambition.

The BLC:

  • provides a two-way permanent feedback loop with UK industry/academia and government to support policy development for responsible innovation and biosecurity
  • supports government in agreeing a proportionate approach towards security-conscious ways of working in this sector
  • engages the UK Biotech and Life Science sectors on emerging risks
  • feeds into broader horizon scanning practices to understand the emerging risks associated with engineering biology
  • contributes towards DSIT’s efforts to be a world leader in responsible innovation and shape global norms and standards

Members

Chair: Minister for Science, Research and Innovation.   

  • Beth Thompson – Chief Strategy Officer, Wellcome Trust
  • Bruce Whitelaw – Director of The Roslin Institute
  • Conor Griffin – Public Policy Researcher at Google DeepMind
  • David Payne – Vice President of the Infectious Diseases Research Unit at GSK
  • Filippa Lentzos - Reader (Associate Professor) in Science and International Security at King’s College London
  • Grey Frandsen - CEO of Oxitec
  • Ian Fotheringham – Managing Director and founder of Ingenza
  • Jonathan Edgeworth - VP Medical Affairs at Oxford Nanopore Technologies
  • Joyce Tait – Member of Regulatory Horizon Council
  • Lalitha Sundaram - Senior Research Associate at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk at the University of Cambridge
  • Mariam Elgaby – founder and CEO of Bronic
  • Michael Daniels – Chief Commercial Officer at SynGenSys
  • Nick Talbot - Executive Director of The Sainsbury Laboratory at Norwich Research Park
  • Nicole Wheeler – Birmingham Fellow at Birmingham University
  • Paul Freemont – Co-Founder of Global Biofoundry Alliance
  • Piers Millett – Founding Executive Director of the International Biosecurity and Biosafety Initiative for Science
  • Rosalind Hollingsworth - Global Medical Affairs Head, Vaccines and Immune Therapies - AstraZeneca
  • Dr Cassidy Nelson – Senior Biosecurity Policy Adviser at the Centre for Long Term Resilience
  • Steve Bates – CEO, UK Bioindustry Association
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