Oxford Biosecurity Group aims to increase the amount of impactful biosecurity work that is done in the long term. As part of this, we are building a community of people interested in taking on leadership roles within biosecurity and leading impactful biosecurity projects.  This post summarises what we are looking for applicants to our talent database, which also makes up part of the full project lead application process.  Who are you looking for and who can apply? We are looking for people with a range of backgrounds to apply.  Minimum experience requirements  (at least one of): 2+ years of experience after undergraduate   in a relevant area (including graduate study) Completed a past biosecurity-related fellowship or project  with an initiative or organisation Biosecurity needs a range of skillsets  beyond biology , including people with experience in policy, communications, engineering, operations and entrepreneurship .  You can apply from any country  for the talent database, as well as for projects as these are led remotely. Note that project leads are paid as contractors, and that you are responsible for checking any visa requirements for this if applicable.  What are you assessing applicants and applications on?  For the talent database, and throughout the full project lead application process, we are looking at:   Motivation: Your motivation for working on biosecurity both in the short and long term Career impact: How being a project lead with OBG fits in with your longer term career plans Skills: Relevant skills (including project management skills), experience and accomplishments, both related to biosecurity overall and in the area of your proposed project (if applicable) Note that we consider this in terms of career stage, and if you are earlier in your career we understand that you will have less experience. We also look for transferable skills, in particular for early career people and those with experience in another field interested in pivoting into biosecurity Reasoning: Your approach to reasoning and how you prioritise between different options, rather than any specific answer For project leads we then additionally look at your approach to project planning , including awareness of uncertainties, and how you approach risk assessment and mitigation, as well as the quality and the potential for impact of the project itself.  For more details about what we are looking for in project proposals, see the relevant section  of our 2025 Application Pack for project leads.  Application tip: For the text-based written response questions, prioritise focusing on content and clarity rather than specific formatting or wording. Bullet points are fine, as are concise answers providing you think the key information is covered.  Apply Here You can apply to our talent database and express your interest in becoming a project lead with OBG here .  This form remains open, and is reviewed approximately once every three months - see in the form description when it will next be reviewed.  If you have any questions, please email projectleads@oxfordbiosecuritygroup.com .

Oxford Biosecurity Group is launching our 2025 Call for Project Proposals, as well as a general project lead expression of interest.  Have a project idea you want to lead, or are interested in developing one?  Apply and submit a proposal to run an impactful biosecurity project that 3+ researchers can work on remotely. Want to express interest in leading future projects?  Complete the first stage of the application process to apply to be added to our talent database, join the Oxford Biosecurity Group Slack and access networking opportunities.  Key details:  Minimum experience: 2+ years post-undergraduate in relevant area OR completed biosecurity fellowship/project Application process: initial interest form, project proposal, 30-minute video interview Project dates: 20th October - 13th December 2025 Location: Remote, and we accept applications from anywhere in the world Time commitment: project scoping, 5-10 hours per week during the project period, 10-20 hours for researcher application review between mid-September and mid-October Compensation: £1500 total stipend, up to £100 default project expenses Timeline at a glance:  Note: Application/decision dates are approximate and may vary by a few days within the indicated weeks. Learn more and apply:  Find out more information in our application pack . It gives more details about the process, timelines, and what we are looking for in applicants and potential projects.  If you have any questions, please reach out at projectleads@oxfordbiosecuritygroup.com .   Apply here  by 7th July 2025!

Biosecurity, broadly, refers to ways to prevent the introduction and spread of diseases, and it is one of the most important and pressing global challenges. What are some reasons that you should work on biosecurity? [1] The potential harm is catastrophic. Pandemics have caused a large death toll throughout history . The Black Death is estimated to have wiped out at least a third of the European population . Smallpox killed approximately 300 million people in the 20th century alone before its eradication in 1980 . The COVID-19 pandemic caused over 7 million confirmed deaths globally, but the excess deaths compared to a typical year may be 2-5x this . Since then, there have been outbreaks of mpox  and H5N1 , with concerns about the pandemic risk of these pathogens. It has been estimated that there is an approximately   2% risk of a COVID-like pandemic occurring in a given year , and future pandemics may be even worse .  [2] The risks are increasing. The frequency of outbreaks from zoonotic spillover events  (spread from animals to people) has increased in recent decades, and this is predicted to increase further due to factors such as climate change. Emerging technologies such as advances in synthetic biology and AI also increase biosecurity risk, as such research can be dual-use  and may be misused by bad actors. While the development or use of biological weapons by states and terrorists is not new , advances in technologies mean that a greater number of people may have the capability to do harm. For example, recent AI models are outperforming PhD virologists  in solving nuanced biological problems, and this technology is advancing rapidly. This harm may also be accidental, through accidental release or research leading to unexpected risks. For example, recently there has been a call to stop research on mirror life , including mirror bacteria, due to an ‘unprecedented risk’ to life on Earth if these bacteria were to be created.  [3] The risks can be reduced. There are many things that can be done  to prevent, detect, and respond to pandemics and reduce biosecurity risks. For example, advances in  and use of  air disinfection and filtration technologies may prevent or reduce the indoor spread of pandemics, and seasonal influenza in a typical year. Advances in  and strategic positioning of  disease surveillance may be able to detect a potential pandemic when there are only a few cases globally. The first COVID-19 vaccine candidate was designed within 2 days  of the genetic sequence being published, and the 100 Days Mission aims to create a vaccine for a new virus within 100 days  - a technical, logistical and regulatory challenge. Work by and coordination between various stakeholders can reduce risks from emerging technologies while maintaining benefits. Examples include screening DNA synthesis customers and orders  for dangerous sequences, and managed access frameworks  for certain tools and data. However, despite promising approaches, significant challenges remain in development and implementation. [4] More people are needed. Pandemics have often gone from panic to neglect , biosecurity remains neglected given the scale of the issue, and often planning  and funding availability  do not focus on the most extreme risks. More work needs to be done, and more people from a range of backgrounds are needed. This includes people with experience in policy, communications and operations, and entrepreneurs to start or scale impactful projects.  You can have a large, global impact working on biosecurity. If this resonates with you, consider how your skills and interests might contribute to biosecurity work. You may find this list of resources  useful, and if you are interested in hands-on experience, we run research projects that help people gain skills and connections in the field.

Thanks for your interest in getting involved in Oxford Biosecurity Group! Please read below to find out more about how to get involved. Join Us Thanks for your interest in joining Oxford Biosecurity Group! Please read more about the different ways you can get involved below. Join as a Researcher Researchers typically spend 5-10 hours a week working on their project during the project period. This is a voluntary role, and researchers gain experience, skills and connections while contributing to impactful projects. We plan to next launch researcher applications in February 2026. Sign up here to be notified when applications open. Join as a Project Lead We are currently doing a general interest call for project leads to join our talent database and potentially lead future projects. We will next be reviewing applications in March 2026 - apply here by 27th February! Join as a Collaborator Many of our past projects have been in collaboration with other organisations. If you are interested in collaborating with us, please reach out at partnerships@oxfordbiosecuritygroup.com . Join the Team We are not currently actively recruiting for any other roles. However, please reach out to contact@oxfordbiosecuritygroup.com if you are interested in helping organise any of our initiatives, or in biosecurity capacity building more broadly. Fund Us Oxford Biosecurity Group is fundraising, and we'd love your support. If you're a interested in supporting our mission, please see our donation page here or reach out to us at fundraising@oxfordbiosecuritygroup.com . Anything Else We are excited to connect with anyone interested in supporting our mission. If you'd like to get involved in Oxford Biosecurity Group in any other capacity, please email us at contact@oxfordbiosecuritygroup.com .

​Connecting researchers with opportunities to conduct impactful biosecurity research. Oxford Biosecurity Group Oxford Biosecurity Group (OBG) aims to increase the amount of impactful biosecurity work that is done in the long term. In 2024, 51 researchers completed 14 research projects run by 12 project leads with 8 collaborating organisations or initiatives. In 2025, we trialed and spun out the Biosecurity Forecasting Group , piloted the online version of the Introduction to Biosecurity course , ran a call for project proposals and launched our talent database for people interested in running biosecurity projects. We will next review applications to our talent database in March 2026 - apply here by 27th February 2026. We plan to next launch researcher applications in February 2026. Sign up to our mailing list to be notified when applications open, and about other opportunities. Join Our Mailing List About Projects Join Us Contact Blog © Oxford Biosecurity Group 2026.

​Oxford Biosecurity Group (OBG) is a team of researchers dedicated to addressing issues related to biosecurity. About We aim to increase the amount of impactful biosecurity work that is done in the long term. We do this by helping people learn about, work on, and transition into a career in biosecurity. For more on why we think it’s important to work on biosecurity, see this post on our blog. Our Story Oxford Biosecurity Group began in September 2023. The three of us were going to work on biosecurity projects alongside our graduate degrees, and we felt that having additional people would be valuable both for direct impact and for helping others further their biosecurity skills and experience. After running our initial pilot project cycle in October-December 2023, we were positively overwhelmed by the level of interest and positive feedback. We decided to run future project cycles and to focus on connecting promising individuals with opportunities to engage in impactful biosecurity research. Projects We help people gain practical experience by running part-time remote research projects in biosecurity and the AI-biology intersection, that people from any country can take part in. We focus primarily on the policy and technology aspects of biosecurity, and projects are often in collaboration with organisations. We expect that most direct project impact is likely to come from providing support and structure for project leads to (i) do impactful work with the help of researchers or (ii) trialing project ideas which they may later spin out, as well as by (iii) increasing the capacity of other organisations, which allows them to do additional valuable work sooner. We therefore look for projects to fit into at least one of these categories. For more details about the projects we run, see here .