Harmon Bhasin

Harmon is a Member of Technical Staff and Biosecurity Group Lead at LatchBio, where his group works on AI × biosecurity benchmarks, biosecurity audits, and agentic know-your-customer (KYC) screening. His earlier work spans methods development for understanding gene regulation and an untargeted viral metagenomic sequencing pipeline that processes billions of reads. He holds a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Felicia Wu

Felicia Wu is the John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor of Food Safety, Toxicology, and Risk Assessment at Michigan State University; University Distinguished Professor; and immediate Past-President of the Society for Risk Analysis. She is appointed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer as Chair of the Agriculture and Rural Development Commission for the state of Michigan. Dr. Wu works at the nexus of biotechnology, agriculture, food safety, and nutrition to improve public health. Currently she has five extramural grants with topics ranging from assessing the health risks of foodborne lead, arsenic, and cadmium; improving resilience of food systems against shocks; and reducing presence of mycotoxins, heavy metals, and pathogens in food crops. Dr. Wu is a Member of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), co-chaired the US National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) Committee on Supporting Responsible Innovation of Synthetic Cells, and now serves on the NASEM Food Forum and the WHO Dietary Guidelines Committee. She earned her PhD in Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University, and AB and SM in Applied Mathematics/Medical Sciences at Harvard University.

Neil Dixon

Neil Dixon is Professor of Sustainable Biotechnology at The University of Manchester and a recognised leader in engineering biology and sustainable biomanufacturing. His research focuses on developing advanced genetic tools, biosensors, engineered microbial systems and bioprocesses that enable the sustainable production of chemicals and materials from renewable and waste-derived feedstocks. He leads a multidisciplinary research programme at the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology that combines synthetic biology, microbial engineering and bioprocess innovation to address global challenges in climate change, resource efficiency and circular manufacturing.

Professor Dixon has over two decades of experience translating engineering biology research into industrial, environmental and societal impact. His work spans microbial engineering, biosensor design, biomanufacturing and circular bioeconomy innovation, with applications ranging from renewable chemical production to waste valorisation and low-carbon materials. He has led major UK and international research initiatives, including the UK arm of the Global Centre for Circular Economy (CIRCLE), and has built extensive partnerships with industry, government and academic collaborators across multiple continents.

Beyond research, Professor Dixon is active in shaping the future of engineering biology through policy engagement, international collaboration and community leadership. He contributes to national and international research strategy, supports the development of future talent through doctoral training and mentorship, and works to ensure that engineering biology delivers sustainable economic and environmental benefits. His interests align strongly with the Engineering Biology Research Consortium’s mission to advance engineering biology through interdisciplinary research, innovation, responsible development and international collaboration.

Karl Thompson

Karl Thompson, Ph.D., is a tenured Associate Professor at Howard University whose work focuses on the genetic analysis of bacterial pathogens, microbial genetics, RNA biology, genome engineering, biosafety, and engineering biology. His NIH-funded research examines RNA-mediated regulation of gene expression in bacteria, including the roles of small regulatory RNAs and RNA-binding factors in controlling bacterial physiology. His laboratory also uses gene fusions, site-directed mutagenesis, genome engineering, and sequence-defined variants in protein-coding and noncoding RNA systems to investigate sequence-function relationships.

Dr. Thompson serves as Howard University’s University Biosafety Officer and holds leadership roles in research and graduate education. He previously served as the inaugural Director of the Interdisciplinary Biomedical Science Graduate Program and as Director of the Microbiology Ph.D. Program. He is also developing graduate coursework in synthetic biology, biosecurity, and biotechnology.

His broader work includes participation as a Mid-Career Biosecurity Fellow with the Council on Strategic Risks and service on the National Academies Mirror Biology Planning Committee. His mentoring record includes undergraduate and graduate researchers across biology, microbiology, and engineering-related disciplines, including Howard University Goldwater Scholars.

His interests include strengthening HBCU research capacity in engineering biology, expanding pathways into synthetic biology and biomanufacturing, advancing responsible biotechnology and biosecurity, and connecting foundational research with national security and workforce-development priorities.

Dennis Mishler

Professor at UT Austin primarily working with undergraduate researchers as part of the Freshman Research Initiative (FRI).

Response to NIH’s Request for Information on Measuring and Rewarding Scientific Impact

Publication Date: August 2026

EBRC’s response to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Science Policy’s Request for Information on Measuring and Rewarding Scientific Impact.

Public Comment on OMB’s Proposed Rule “Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance”

Publication Date: July 2026

EBRC’s public comment in response to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)’s proposed rule on Federal Financial Assistance.

2026 Central US Synthetic Biology Workshop

Join us for the 2026 Central US Synthetic Biology Workshop, which will bring together synthetic biology researchers to share their recent research. Registration is free but is required to attend the event.

This meeting is designed to foster conversation across academia, industry, and government to identify research opportunities that will advance the synthetic biology bioeconomy in the Central US. Topics will range from computational design, control theory, and modeling to programming eukaryotes for biomedicine to engineering for environmental systems. A subset of talks will be chosen from abstracts.

Biotechnology Program Coordinator

In this role, you will play a central role in advancing the Biotechnology (BIT) Program and supporting the students, faculty, and partners who make it successful. You will serve as the program expert and a trusted advisor to students, helping them navigate their academic programs, connect with opportunities, and achieve their educational and professional goals.

You will work closely with BIT leadership, faculty, university offices, students, and external sponsors to coordinate courses, monitor student progress, lead communications and events, and support program reporting. You will also lead data analysis and reporting for externally funded training programs, including NSF REU and NIH T32 grants, helping demonstrate program impact and support continuous improvement.

This position offers an opportunity to take ownership of meaningful program activities, build relationships across the university and beyond, and directly shape the student experience and continued growth of a dynamic biotechnology education and training program. This role focuses specifically on BIT program operations and does not oversee ISI-wide education or partnership initiatives.

 

Key Responsibilities:

Academic Program Leadership

  • Advise BIT undergraduate and graduate students on degree requirements, course planning, enrollment, and academic progression.
  • Coordinate courses, instructors, classrooms, catalog updates, and graduate program activities.
  • Maintain accurate student records and monitor enrollment, progression, and completion.

Data, Reporting & Program Operations

  • Manage program records, databases, calendars, and operational resources.
  • Lead data analysis, longitudinal tracking, and sponsor reporting for BIT programs, including NSF REU and NIH T32
  • Monitor program and budget information and provide leadership with insights to support planning and decision-making.

Communications, Outreach & Events

  • Lead BIT communications, website content, marketing, and outreach to showcase program opportunities.
  • Coordinate seminars, workshops, recruitment activities, visitors, and other program events.
  • Manage announcements, calendars, and communication channels to keep students and stakeholders informed and engaged.

Program Coordination & Support

  • Serve as a primary resource for BIT students, faculty, staff, and partners, helping them navigate program processes and university systems.
  • Coordinate meetings, schedules, presentations, reports, and other activities that support effective program operations.
  • Take ownership of day-to-day program needs, solve problems, and help advance the BIT program’s goals and student experience.

This is a visible, multifaceted position that combines student advising, academic program management, data and reporting, communications, and event coordination. The role is well suited to a proactive, organized professional who enjoys managing varied responsibilities, solving problems independently, and serving as a trusted resource to students, faculty, leadership, and university partners.

Success in this role requires strong communication and organizational skills, attention to detail, sound judgment, and the ability to manage multiple priorities while maintaining a high level of service and accuracy.

Internship at Federation of American Scientists

Posted: 08/12/2026

About the Company/Organization:

Federation of American Scientists
Type: Nonprofit/NGO
Size:
https://fas.org/

After the devastating bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a group of atomic researchers, deeply concerned about the use of science for malice, created an organization committed to using science and technology to benefit humanity. The group they created – the Federation of Atomic Scientists – soon became the Federation of American Scientists in recognition of the hundreds of scientists across diverse disciplines who joined together to advance science policy and counter scientific misinformation.

Over 75 years later, the Federation of American Scientists is still working to minimize the risks of significant global threats, arising from nuclear weapons, biological and chemical agents, and climate change. The organization also works to advance progress on a broad suite of contemporary issues where science, technology, and innovation policy can deliver dramatic progress, and seeks to ensure that scientific and technical expertise have a seat at the policymaking table. In 2025, we expanded our work to better serve state and local governments, partnering with city halls, universities, and communities to advance innovation where people live and policy is put into practice.

Internship Project/Opportunity

Location: Washington, DC (Hybrid)
Anticipated internship dates: September 30, 2026 – February 28, 2027
Target intern experience level: Graduate Students, Postdocs
https://fas.org/career/ai-safety-pef/

AI Safety Policy Entrepreneurship Fellowship

Part-time fellow
Hybrid
$5,000 stipend

The Policy Entrepreneurship Fellowship (PEF) empowers and guides participants in advancing their policy ideas into practice. During the fellowship (running from September 30, 2026 – February 28, 2027), each Fellow works as a part-time FAS affiliate to advance a policy idea from concept toward implementation by engaging decision-makers, building coalitions, and pursuing opportunities for real-world policy impact.

This particular PEF cohort will concentrate on frontier AI safety issues. Fellows are encouraged to explore various aspects of this field, including:

  • Technical AI Safety: Ensuring frontier AI systems are reliable, aligned with human values, and behave predictably.
  • Governance and policy: Developing frameworks to guide the safe and secure use of frontier AI systems.
  • Risk assessment and mitigation for advanced AI systems.
  • Transparency and accountability: Enhancing these aspects in AI development and deployment.
  • We are especially interested in proposals that tackle themes such as cybersecurity, capability thresholds, risk taxonomies, impact on critical infrastructure, compute governance, model proliferation (open vs. closed systems), as well as general policy design and capacity considerations for governing catastrophic risks stemming from AI. Our expectation is that Fellows will identify a concrete problem related to frontier AI safety and outline a feasible pathway toward policy adoption, whether through legislation, regulation, standards, procurement, institutional design, or other governance mechanisms.

What you’ll be doing

The Policy Entrepreneurship Fellowship is designed as a flexible and open-ended opportunity for you to pursue impact with the help of FAS resources. Rather than focusing solely on research, the Fellowship emphasizes policy entrepreneurship, equipping participants to identify policy windows, build coalitions, engage decision-makers, and move promising ideas toward implementation.

  • Develop and publish a policy memo addressing a specific frontier AI safety challenge, including a practical policy solution and a strategy for engaging the key stakeholders responsible for implementation.
  • Participate in Policy Entrepreneurship training sessions and reading groups designed to deepen participants’ understanding of frontier AI safety, policymaking processes, and how to translate technical expertise into real-world policy impact.
  • Attend an in-person California retreat, tentatively scheduled for November 4–7, 2026, focused on mentorship, community building, and advancing fellows’ policy projects.
  • Attend an in-person capstone event in Washington, DC, tentatively scheduled for the week of February 22, 2027, to launch and disseminate fellows’ policy memos and engage with policymakers, experts, and other key stakeholders.

Selection Criteria

We encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds. This fellowship is particularly well suited for early- to mid-career professionals with limited experience working directly in public policy who are eager to translate technical or subject-matter expertise into practical policy impact. Ideal applicants may come from technical AI research, academia, think tanks, civil society, industry, law, cybersecurity, national security, or related disciplines.

Applications will be evaluated holistically. We are looking for applicants who demonstrate:

  • A clear understanding of a significant frontier AI safety, security, or governance challenge.
  • A concrete, implementation-oriented policy idea with a credible pathway toward real-world adoption.
  • Thoughtful consideration of the institutions, decision-makers, and stakeholders needed to implement their proposal.
  • An understanding of the practical challenges associated with advancing policy and a willingness to engage constructively with them.
  • Curiosity, initiative, and a demonstrated interest in translating ideas into practical policy impact.

Professional Development

  • Participation in twice-monthly group check-ins. The FAS staff will make every effort to schedule these check-ins at times that accommodate all participants. FAS staff will accommodate select absences (e.g., due to illness, work conflicts, or vacation) given appropriate notice.
  • Mandatory participation in programming provided by FAS
  • The Fellows must commit to dedicating an average of 5 hours/week (20 hours/month) to the fellowship from September 30, 2026 – February 28, 2027, including the mandatory programming outlined above. NOTE: FAS will consider exempting participants from participation in mandatory sessions under exceptional circumstances.

Benefits

  • A $5,000 stipend. The Fellow with the most specific and actionable policy memo and advocacy plan may also receive an additional $1,000 merit award.
  • An additional travel stipend to cover select expenses for the California retreat and Washington, DC, Capstone event.
  • Professional editing of written products developed during the fellowship.
  • Invitations to FAS programming, curated updates on the rapidly evolving federal S&T landscape, and interactive “deep dive” sessions on practical aspects of policy entrepreneurship.
  • Policy-engagement training provided by the staff at the Federation of American Scientists
  • Support from FAS in connecting with key experts and actors.
  • Monthly individual check-ins with a dedicated FAS staff mentor, plus additional meetings and communications as needed.

Applications are due by 11:59 PM ET on September 7th, 2026. Please note that we are only accepting applications to this position submitted via the linked platform. When applying, you will be redirected to our application platform and will need to create an account to submit an application.

Questions? Contact FAS at dayoneproject@fas.org.

Contact: Email

Julia Scordo

Julia Scordo is Senior Program Manager for Special Projects at EBRC. She leads programs that promote safety and security in engineering biology globally. Prior to EBRC, Julia was at the Department of State where she led a team of talented program officers implementing global security assistance programs that countered biosecurity and biotechnology risks to national security. She received her Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from The Ohio State University and completed post-doctoral training in immunology and infectious disease at Texas Biomedical Research Institute in San Antonio.

EBRC 2026 Council Retreat

Register here

The EBRC 2026 Council Retreat will be hosted at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. December 10-11, 2026. Join us to identify engineering biology community needs, strategies to address those needs, and to determine EBRC priorities for the coming year in the context of ongoing developments in research, policy, and across the engineering biology ecosystem.

Travel Support and Meeting Hotel:
We anticipate covering airfare and hotel expenses for EBRC Academic Council Members. To book your flights, please contact us at travel@ebrc.org. Please review EBRC’s revised travel policy.

Hotel information will be provided soon.

Health and Safety:
We are committed to hosting a safe event. We will be closely watching CDC recommendations in addition to all relevant local and state guidelines leading up to the Retreat and make any changes necessary for health and safety.