November 23, 2009

Global Biosecurity in a Complex, Dynamic World

Biosecurity Research at ACDIS

The ACDIS biosecurity initiative examines issues at the intersection of human and veterinary medicine, public health, biodefense, and international security policy.

Key areas of research focus include detection, countermeasures, and responses to emerging infectious and zoonotic diseases, and the challenges and benefits posed by novel or modified pathogens and biotoxins through synthetic biology.

ACDIS aims to inform the development of clear but sufficiently flexible regulatory frameworks, risk assessment criteria, and compliance and enforcement mechanisms critical for biosecurity planning and policymaking.

Last updated: September 12, 2008

Author

Brenda Wilson
Associate Professor of Microbiology

Published by Complexity (Wiley Periodicals)

Vol. 14 / No. 1 / 2008

Summary

Biosecurity is emerging as a major global health priority for which innovative and unprecedented solutions are needed. Biosecurity is a challenging biocomplexity problem involving multifaceted processes such as interactions between humans and nonhuman biota, anthropogenic environmental and ecological factors, and socioeconomic and political pressures. Key to an effective biosecurity strategy will be fundamental understanding of evolutionary, anthropogenic and environmental driving forces at play in transmission and perpetuation of infectious diseases. Biosecurity solutions will depend on increased support of basic biomedical research and public education, enhanced healthcare preparedness, alternative strategies for ensuringsafety, and improved interagency cooperation regarding global health policy.

Link to publisher’s information, abstract, and full text.