Engineering Biology Research Consortium
June 2024
Nucleic acid governance
Stress-testing synthesis screening systems
We are working with the Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC) on a $330,000 effort to develop and pilot a methodology for stress-testing (or ‘red-teaming’) systems for screening synthetic nucleic acid orders. This research effort is led by Dr. Becky Mackelprang, Dr. India Hook-Barnard, and postdoctoral researchers from the EBRC.
The project is carried out in consultation with a larger number of organizations and individuals from the international biosecurity community, the gene synthesis industry, and contacts at relevant agencies in the United States government.
We hope that this research will clarify existing gaps in nucleic acid governance, lay the scientific foundation for future auditing and accountability paradigms in the nucleic acid synthesis industry, and help us track our progress toward improving the prevalence and quality of global synthesis screening solutions.