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Biological threats are challenging national defence approaches. AI has emerged as a new tool in the rapid design of synthetic pathogens. Pandemic preparedness has improved post-Covid but remains fragmented. Systems for attribution are struggling to keep pace with novel organisms. Manufacturing for countermeasures remains out of step with the pace of novel threats.

The gap between emerging threats and our ability to detect, attribute and respond is widening, and closing it requires new approaches and coordination between those with the insights, authority and expertise to act.

In response to these challenges, Imperial College London will host a high-level Biosecurity conference on Wednesday 10 June, convening global leaders to examine these challenges and how, collectively, we can respond by moving beyond analysis to building the frameworks, partnerships and capabilities for better biosecurity. The conference will convene policy leaders, international researchers and industry representatives to address the critical need for new, interoperable technologies capable of monitoring and defending against biological threats, whether natural or synthetic; the dual-use potential of biotechnologies and  better threat attribution; the need for rapid international response frameworks; and the need for regulatory approaches and robust protocols that can simultaneously support innovation and safeguard against misuse. 

With input from policy leaders from the UK, NATO, the EU, US and Singapore, the conference will take place at Imperial's White City Deep Tech Campus in West London, home to our growing clusters in health innovation, resilience technologies, and deep tech entrepreneurship.  The campus and ecosystem hosts NATO’s Defence and Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA) headquarters as well as the UK Ministry of Defence’s Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA), and embodies Imperial’s commitment to translating cutting-edge research into real-world impact through partnerships with industry and policymakers.

Conference themes

The conference addresses biosecurity through three interconnected pillars:

Conference pillars

Threats

The threat landscape is expanding, from weaponised natural pathogens to entirely synthetic threats. We will examine AI-enabled threat creation, novel organisms through synthetic biology, unintentional consequences from frontier biotechnology innovation, evolutionary and infectious disease modelling, food security challenges, and non-pharmaceutical protective systems.

Surveillance

Work is underway to build the next generation of detection infrastructure, bridging biology, chemistry, and engineering. We will explore integrated platforms for chemical and biological threat detection and attribution, water and air surveillance systems, microforensics, evidential-level detection, and the governance frameworks needed for cross-border data sharing and standardised reporting.

Countermeasures

Pandemic responses have shown the imperative to be able to develop and deploy rapid response capabilities at scale. We will investigate response capabilities including 'ever-warm' production systems, modular therapeutic platforms, resilient supply chains, scalable manufacturing for protein and chemical synthesis of therapeutic countermeasures, and broad-spectrum treatments that can be deployed within weeks, not years.

Who should participate:

This invitational event is designed for senior decision-makers from:

  • Government: defence, security and foreign policy
  • International organisations: NATO, EU, UN agencies and comparable multilateral bodies
  • Research institutions: Directors of biosecurity, synthetic biology, and emerging biotechnology programmes
  • Industry: Executives in biotech, defence, AI, diagnostics and therapeutics

You will leave with: 

  • Actionable insights into emerging biological threats and the policy frameworks to respond to them
  • New partnerships across government, research and industry
  • Input to decision-makers shaping international biosecurity architectures

Confirmed Speakers 

Hosted by Professor Hugh Brady, President of Imperial College London.

  • Professor Andrea Büttner – Executive Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging and Chair of Fraunhofer Group for Resource Technologies and Bioeconomy. Leading expert in food safety systems and  supply chain security.
  • Professor Azra Ghani MBE FMedSci – Chair of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at Imperial College London and Director of the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis.  
  • Dr Richard Hatchett – CEO of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), co-creator of COVAX, and former Acting Director of the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
  • Professor Karen Polizzi – Professor of Biotechnology at Imperial College London's Centre for Synthetic Biology and Innovation, leading research in biomanufacturing systems, vaccine production platforms, and biosensor development.
  • Professor Henrik C. Wegener – Heads the Global Pathogen Analysis Platform at the DTU National Food Institute in Denmark; Board Chair of the International Centre for Antimicrobial Resistance Solutions (ICARS); member of Heidelberg University’s Academic Advisory Council; and External Senior Advisor to the NovoNordisk Foundation.