Protecting Innovation - A Research Security Forum: Safeguarding the Bioeconomy
The bioeconomy promises profound, beneficial impacts in the areas of health, agriculture, renewable energy, and additive manufacturing. However, when it comes to security, biological threats have historically focused on emerging infectious diseases or the possibility of engineering a virus that could start the zombie apocalypse. New security challenges will arise as biotech converges with the cyber, artificial intelligence, and telecom realms.
Join guest speaker Edward H. You, supervisory special agent for the National Counterintelligence Task Force, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), who will address the need to radically redefine what are considered national and international biological and cyber threats.
The event is open to the Virginia Tech community and can be attended in-person or virtually.
Protecting Innovation - A Research Security Forum: Safeguarding the Bioeconomy
Jan. 29 | 10 - 11:30 a.m.
Gilbert Place, RM 3002, Virginia Tech
220 Gilbert Street
Blacksburg, VA 24060
Host
John Talerico
Assistant Vice President, Research Security and Chief Research Security Officer, Office of Export and Secure Research Compliance
John Talerico serves as the director of the Office of Export and Secure Research Compliance for university-wide compliance with export controls, sanctions, and research security laws and regulations. He also serves as the university’s facility security officer and Insider Threat Program senior official as required by the National Industrial Security Program.
Speaker
Edward H. You
Supervisory Special Agent, National Counterintelligence Task Force
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Edward You is a supervisory special agent in the FBI’s National Counterintelligence Task Force, where he supports a whole-of-government approach to technology protection.
Prior to joining the task force, You served for 15 years in the FBI Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate where he was responsible for identifying, assessing, and responding to weapons of mass destruction threats or incidents with a focus on biosecurity and emerging biotechnologies, such as synthetic biology. You has also been directly involved in policy-making efforts with a focus on biosecurity and protecting biotechnology developments.
He served as working group member on the White House National Security Council Countering Biological Threats initiatives and represented the FBI as an Ex Officio member of the National Institutes of Health National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity. He also served on two National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Committees, the Institute of Medicine’s Forum on Microbial Threats and the Committee on Science, Technology, and Law’s Forum on Synthetic Biology.
Prior to joining the FBI, You had extensive experience in academic research having worked for three years in autoimmune disease research at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and six years in human gene therapy and retrovirology at the University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine. You worked for three years in the commercial biotechnology sector conducting cancer research and assay development at AMGEN, Inc.
You is currently a senior fellow for the Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University.
About This Series
Presented by the Office of Export and Secure Research Compliance, Protecting Innovation: A Research Security Forum serves as an ongoing platform to educate and engage both researchers and the broader university community on critical topics related to research security. Each seminar features expert speakers and discussions covering a range of issues, including cybersecurity, data protection, export controls, intellectual property management, and compliance with federal regulations.
If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, contact Robyn Smyth at 540-231-1602 or robyn@vt.edu during regular business hours at least 10 business days prior to the event.