Biosecurity and bioethics training can support the life sciences research community in securing and safeguarding biotechnology as it delivers powerful new tools, technologies, and products. However, these topics are not always well-integrated into researcher training. B-BER provides tools to support trainee exposure to biosecurity and bioethics concepts and suggestions for using them.
The Biosecurity & Bioethics Education Resource (B-BER) was developed by members of EBRC’s Student & Postdoc Association to facilitate the incorporation of biosecurity and biosafety topics into existing educational and learning venues.
B-BER provides lesson plans for instructors/facilitators that forefront participant engagement and critical thinking. The lesson plans can be adapted to suit a single class period, a journal club, and/or a full workshop, and include options for high-school, undergraduate, or graduate students.
In addition to guiding facilitators through in-session activities, the lesson plans suggest activities to help prepare participants for the session and post-session activities to reinforce critical thinking about biosecurity and bioethics.
Lesson plans are supported by fictional case studies that educators and students alike can use to guide discussions on biosecurity and bioethics. These case studies cover a variety of topics and are of different lengths to fit a variety of settings. The case studies and related questions are meant to help stimulate discourse on this topic and are not intended to create experts.
B-BER ends with a variety of resources to help further biosecurity and bioethics education, including i) a framework from a National Academies report for analyzing security hazards in life sciences research; ii) a glossary of key terms related to biosecurity; and iii) additional books, reports, and articles about a variety of biosecurity and bioethics topics. Thus, the training strategies herein may serve as a jumping off point for further and deeper inquiry, analysis, and learning.
If you have questions about the material or suggestions for future biosecurity or bioethics curriculum modules, please contact us at security@ebrc.org.
CC BY-NC-SA
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