CNAS Task Force on Biotechnology and American Competitiveness
The CNAS Task Force on Biotechnology and American Competitiveness tackles critical issues at the nexus of biotechnology and U.S. national security. Bringing together experts from government, industry, and academia, the CNAS Biotech Task Force develops pragmatic policy recommendations to address acute biosecurity challenges such as bioterrorism and bolster American competitiveness across the biotechnology landscape—from synthetic biology to pharmaceuticals to genomic editing.
The CNAS Biotech Task Force is chaired by Michael Chertoff, former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security and now Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of The Chertoff Group.
Task Force Chair
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Michael Chertoff
Member, BioTech Task Force, Executive Chairman and Co-Founder, The Chertoff Group
Task Force Executive Director
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Vivek Chilukuri
Senior Fellow and Director, Technology and National Security Program
Task Force Members
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Bryan Baines
Member, BioTech Task Force, Director of Scientific Collaborations, Duke University Liaison to Four Points Innovation
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Alex Burgin
Member, BioTech Task Force, Senior Director, Center for the Development of Therapeutics
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Richard J. Danzig
Member, BioTech Task Force, Member, CNAS Board of Directors
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Dr. Diane DiEuliis
Member, BioTech Task Force, Distinguished Research Fellow, National Defense University
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Dr. Chris Fall
Member, BioTech Task Force, Vice President Applied Sciences, MITRE Corporation
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John Frank
Member, BioTech Task Force, Chief Public Affairs Officer, Illumina
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Dr. L. Val Giddings
Member, BioTech Task Force, Senior Fellow, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
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Dr. Gigi Kwik Gronvall
Member, BioTech Task Force, Senior Scholar and Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
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Liz Hanpeter
Member, BioTech Task Force, Senior Director, Public Affairs, Emergent BioSolutions
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Jacob Helberg
Member, BioTech Task Force, Adjunct Senior Fellow, Technology and National Security Program
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Andrea Hodgson
Member, BioTech Task Force, Program Scientist, Schmidt Sciences
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Dr. India Hook-Barnard
Member, BioTech Task Force, Executive Director, Engineering Biology Research Consortium
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Heather Ichord
Member, BioTech Task Force, Program Manager, Defense Innovation Unit
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Carol Kuntz
Member, BioTech Task Force, Senior Advisor, Chertoff Group
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Peter L. Levin
Member, BioTech Task Force, Adjunct Senior Fellow, CNAS
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Dr. David A. Markowitz
Member, BioTech Task Force
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Ryan Morhard
Member, BioTech Task Force, Director for Policy and Partnerships, Ginkgo Bioworks
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Tara O’Toole
Member, BioTech Task Force, Senior Fellow, In-Q-Tel
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Dr. Megan Palmer
Member, BioTech Task Force, Senior Director of Public Impact, Ginkgo Bioworks
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Anna Puglisi
Member, BioTech Task Force, Director of Biotechnology Programs and Senior Fellow at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology
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Gary Rieschel
Member, BioTech Task Force, Founding Managing Partner, Qiming
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Nikki Teran
Member, BioTech Task Force, Policy Lead, Open Philanthropy
Biotech Matters Commentary Series:
Technology & National Security
Biotech Matters: Problems with Life Science Databases in the United States
While humans will retain their ultimate mysteries, many aspects of their traits, diseases, and environment are becoming increasingly tractable. Much of this advance has come f...
Technology & National Security
Biotech Matters: Public-Private Coordination of Biotechnology
An appreciation of biotechnology’s great opportunities is, for many commentators, intimately joined with regret about a disconnect between the U.S. government and the private ...
Technology & National Security
Biotech Matters: Great Data Competition and Interoperability with Allies and Partners
Understanding and strengthening America’s biotechnology leadership requires exploring the limits of existing data relevant to the U.S. bioeconomy so that policymakers and the ...
Technology & National Security
Biotech Matters: Innovation in Agricultural Biotechnology
In 1986, the United States established a “Coordinated Framework for the Regulation of Biotechnology.” In the decades since, this policy helped to enable the rapid development ...
Technology & National Security
Biotech Matters: Automated Scientists Will Power Tomorrow’s Bioeconomy
Twenty years ago, it was barely plausible that soon every person on Earth would have a supercomputer in their pocket with ready access to the world’s information. Even though ...
Technology & National Security
Biotech Matters
Operation Warp Speed showed the power of the U.S. government to direct national biotech capabilities around a shared goal—in this case, a novel vaccine. But there are many oth...
Learn More:
Technology & National Security
Biopower
For policymakers, the question is not whether the biorevolution has transformative power, but which nation will responsibly harness that power...
Technology & National Security
Virtual Event | Biopower: Securing American Leadership in Biotechnology
Feb 6, 2025
Technology & National Security
Industrial Policy for Biotech?
Does America need an industrial policy to compete in biotech? Ryan Fedasiuk joins China Talk to discuss. Listen to the full interview from ChinaTalk....
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