New EBRC Publication! Securing the U.S. Bioeconomy: A Managed Access Framework for Biotechnology Innovation

EBRC Science Policy Postdoctoral Fellow Jon Judd has published a new independent policy memo examining federal governance of biological data: Securing the U.S. Bioeconomy: A Managed Access Framework for Biotechnology Innovation.

The U.S. leads in biological data production, but fragmented governance and incompatible formats mean that data sitting in federal repositories today cannot fuel the AI-enabled discoveries the bioeconomy needs.

His memo argues for a managed-access approach and puts forward three recommendations:

• Congress should authorize a DOE-led federated pilot program anchored at the National Labs to build and test the infrastructure for shared biological data access.
• NIST should develop a standardized biological data ontology to establish the building blocks for AI-ready data across federal repositories.
• OSTP should convene an interagency subcommittee to produce a unified data-use agreement, replacing the current patchwork of incompatible access requirements.

The memo reflects input from across the EBRC community and builds on the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology’s call for improved federal biological data infrastructure. We encourage the broader community to read it and share reactions.

Read the full memo here.