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Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security - Wikipedia
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Relevant to AI safety discussions about biosecurity risks, particularly concerns that advanced AI could lower barriers to bioweapon development; this center is a key institutional actor in biological risk governance.
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Summary
The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security is a leading research and policy organization focused on biological threats, pandemic preparedness, and health security. It conducts research, policy analysis, and public education to strengthen global responses to infectious disease outbreaks and other health emergencies. The center is relevant to AI safety discussions around biosecurity and catastrophic biological risks.
Key Points
- •Conducts research on epidemic and pandemic preparedness, biosecurity, and global health threats with policy implications
- •Ran influential pandemic simulation exercises like Event 201 (2019), which modeled a novel coronavirus outbreak before COVID-19
- •Provides policy recommendations to governments and international bodies on biological risk reduction and emergency response
- •Relevant to AI safety via its work on biosecurity, given concerns about AI enabling bioweapon development or misuse
- •Part of the broader ecosystem of organizations addressing catastrophic and existential biological risks
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| Page | Type | Quality |
|---|---|---|
| Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security | Organization | 63.0 |
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Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security - Wikipedia
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Nonprofit biosecurity think tank
Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security Abbreviation CHS Formation 1998 ; 28 years ago  ( 1998 ) [ 1 ] Founder D. A. Henderson [ 1 ] Type Think tank Location Baltimore , Maryland , United States of America
Director Tom Inglesby , MD [ 2 ] Deputy Director Anita Cicero, JD [ 3 ] Key people Tara O'Toole
Caitlin Rivers
Tara Kirk
Crystal Watson
Alexandra Phelan
Jassi Pannu Affiliations Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Website www .centerforhealthsecurity .org Formerly called Johns Hopkins Center for Civilian Biodefense Strategies (1998–2003)
Center for Biosecurity of UPMC (2003–2013)
UPMC Center for Health Security (2013–2017)
The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security (abbreviated CHS ) is an independent, nonprofit organization of Johns Hopkins University and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health . The Center works to prevent and prepare for epidemics, pandemics and other health disasters. The Center is also concerned with biological weapons prevention and the biosecurity implications of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence [ 4 ] and synthetic biology.
The Center is designated an official Collaborating Centre of the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization ; [ 5 ] it provides policy recommendations to governments worldwide including the United States Government , the European Union , and the United Nations Biological Weapons Convention . [ 6 ]
History
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Founding
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The Center for Health Security was founded in 1998 by D. A. Henderson , the physician who led the successful WHO smallpox eradication campaign. It was originally named the Johns Hopkins Center for Civilian Biodefense Strategies (CCBS). [ 7 ] At that time, the center was the first and only academic center focused on biosecurity policy and practice. [ citation needed ] Henderson became aware of the Soviet Union's offensive biological weapons program in 1989, which was in direct defiance of the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention multilateral disarmament treaty. [ 8 ] Routine vaccination against smallpox ended globally in 1980, meaning the use of smallpox as a biological weapon would have catastrophic consequences.
In 1998, the Center was established with a founding team of Dr. Tara O'Toole , Dr. Tom Inglesby , and Dr. Monica Schoch-Spana, with the goal of rigorous research and advocacy to counter bioterrorism and emerging infectious diseases such as pandemic influenza, HIV, and monkeypox. One of their first proposals to the United States Government was to procure 40 million dose
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