Johns Hopkins Center for Civilian Biodefense Strategies (1998–2003)
Center for Biosecurity of UPMC (2003–2013)
UPMC Center for Health Security (2013–2017)
The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security (abbreviated CHS) is an independent, nonprofit organization of Johns Hopkins University and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The Center works to prevent and prepare for epidemics, pandemics and other health disasters. The Center is also concerned with biological weapons prevention and the biosecurity implications of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence[4] and synthetic biology.
The Center for Health Security was founded in 1998 by D. A. Henderson, the physician who led the successful WHO smallpox eradication campaign. It was originally named the Johns Hopkins Center for Civilian Biodefense Strategies (CCBS).[7] At that time, the center was the first and only academic center focused on biosecurity policy and practice.[citation needed] Henderson became aware of the Soviet Union's offensive biological weapons program in 1989, which was in direct defiance of the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention multilateral disarmament treaty.[8] Routine vaccination against smallpox ended globally in 1980, meaning the use of smallpox as a biological weapon would have catastrophic consequences.
In 1998, the Center was established with a founding team of Dr. Tara O'Toole, Dr. Tom Inglesby, and Dr. Monica Schoch-Spana, with the goal of rigorous research and advocacy to counter bioterrorism and emerging infectious diseases such as pandemic influenza, HIV, and monkeypox. One of their first proposals to the United States Government was to procure 40 million doses of stockpiled smallpox vaccine, which was supported by President Bill Clinton.[8]
Operation Dark Winter
In June 2001, the Center hosted a tabletop exercise named Dark Winter in collaboration with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the Homeland Security Institute (ANSER), and the Oklahoma Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism.[8]Dark Winter drew an analogy with the destructive power of a nuclear explosion, but instead focused on the catastrophic consequences of an deliberate, weaponized smallpox epidemic. Dark Winter was the first biological weapons tabletop exercise of its kind; media coverage was extensive and six subsequent congressional hearings were held.[8]
Smallpox vaccine stockpiling
The September 11 attacks by terrorists on the United States prompted further fear of a biological weapons attack. Subsequent attacks via letters laced with anthrax spores. In preparation for possible follow-on attacks, the Center uncovered that much of the smallpox vaccine stockpile in the US had expired, ultimately prompting then HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson to commit to stockpiling a dose of smallpox vaccine for every person in America. For this purpose, $3 billion was appropriated by Congress.[8] Secretary Thompson requested Henderson assume responsibility for the Office of Public Health Preparedness (later the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response); O'Toole and Inglesby assumed leadership of the Center and renamed it the Center for Biosecurity. In 2003 it came under the aegis of the University of Pittsburgh.[9]
Atlantic storm
On January 14, 2005, the Center organized a table-top exercise for senior political leaders from Europe, Canada, and the United States. It was supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and the Nuclear Threat Initiative. The former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former Director General of the WHO and Prime Minister of Norway Dr. Gro Brundtland, were among those that participated.[8]
In January 2017, Coefficient Giving (formerly the Open Philanthropy Project) awarded a $16 million grant over three years to the Center for Health Security;[12][13] this was renewed for $20 million in 2019 and $10 million in 2023.[14]
The Center for Health Security publishes the newsletter:
Health Security Decoded, a monthly roundup of top news and developments in health security.
It previously published the Clinicians' Biosecurity News (formerly the Clinicians' Biosecurity Network Report),[16] and Health Security Headlines (previously called Biosecurity Briefing,[17][18][19]Health Security Headlines,[20][21] and Preparedness Pulsepoints.[22]
It maintains and edits the peer-reviewed journal Health Security[23] which was launched in 2003 and called Biosecurity and Bioterrorism: Biodefense Strategy, Practice, and Science until 2015.[24]
CHS published the blogThe Bifurcated Needle until 2020.[25]
The center has published in journals including Science, Nature, JAMA and The Lancet. A full list of publications is available on the CHS website. As of February2017[update], the list shows more than 400 publications.[26]
From June 22–23, 2001, CHS co-hosted Operation Dark Winter, a senior-level bioterrorism attack simulation involving a covert and widespread smallpox attack on the United States.
On May 15, 2018, the Center hosted Clade X,[27] a day-long pandemic tabletop exercise that simulated a series of National Security Council–convened meetings of 10 US government leaders, played by individuals prominent in the fields of national security or epidemic response.
Drawing from actual events, Clade X identified important policy issues and preparedness challenges that could be solved with sufficient political will and attention. These issues were designed in a narrative to engage and educate the participants and the audience.
Clade X was livestreamed on Facebook and extensive materials from the exercise are available online.[28][29]
Event 201
On October 18, 2019, the CHS partnered with the World Economic Forum and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to host the tabletop exercise Event 201 in New York City.[30][31] According to the CHS, "the exercise illustrated areas where public/private partnerships will be necessary during the response to a severe pandemic in order to diminish large-scale economic and societal consequences".[30]
Event 201 simulated the effects of a fictional coronavirus passing to humans via infected pig farms in Brazil with "no possibility of a vaccine being available in the first year".[32] The simulation ended after 18 months and projected 65 million deaths from the coronavirus.[32]
Since 2023, the Center has worked extensively on the convergence of artificial intelligence and biotechnology, establishing the shorthand AIxBio within this field.[34]
The Center has provided policy recommendations to governments and AI Safety Institutes globally regarding several issues at the intersection of artificial intelligence and biosecurity, including biological data governance, open source models, export controls, risk assessment, model evaluations, and safeguards.[36]
Other
Improving Epidemic Response: Building Bridges Between the US and China. May 2012.
Considerations for the Reauthorization of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA). March 2012.
U.S. Preparedness for a Nuclear Detonation. October 2011.
Charting the Future of Biosecurity: Ten Years After the Anthrax Attacks. October 2011.
Advancing US Resilience to a Nuclear Catastrophe. May 2011.
Preserving National Security: The Growing Role of the Life Sciences. March 2011.
Improving Global Health, Strengthening Global Security. November 2010.
The State of BIOPreparedness: Lessons from Leaders, Proposals for Progress. September 2010.
Preparing to Save Lives and Recover After a Nuclear Detonation: Implications for US Policy. April 2010.
The 2009 H1N1 Experience: Policy Implications for Future Infectious Disease Emergencies. March 2010.
Resilient American Communities: Progress In Practice and Policy. December 10, 2009.
Prevention of Biothreats: A Look Ahead. October 6, 2009.
Disease, Disaster, and Democracy: The Public's Stake in Health Emergency Planning. May 2006.
Bulls, Bears, and Birds: Preparing the Financial Industry for a Pandemic. September 2005.
Conference on Biosafety and Biorisks. May 2005.
The Public as an Asset, Not a Problem: A Summit on Leadership During Bioterrorism. February 2003.
2nd National Symposium on Medical and Public Health Response to Bioterrorism. November 2000.
National Symposium on Medical and Public Health Response to Bioterrorism. February 1999.
↑"Our People D. A. Henderson, MD, MPH". Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. Johns Hopkins University. Retrieved November 28, 2025. He was Dean Emeritus and Professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and a Founding Director (1998) of the Johns Hopkins Center for Civilian Biodefense Strategies.
12345678Henderson, Donald A. (2009). "Chapter 10: Smallpox as a Biological Weapon". Smallpox: the death of a disease: the inside story of eradicating a worldwide killer. Amherst, N.Y: Prometheus Books. ISBN1591027225.
↑Roos, Robert (September 23, 2003). "Johns Hopkins biodefense experts head in new direction". CIDRAP. Retrieved February 8, 2017. the four full-time faculty members and 16 administrative staff members of the CCBS are all leaving Hopkins to join the UPMC.
↑Price Tyson (January 16, 2017). "Center for Health Security Joins Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School". Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. Retrieved February 8, 2017. the Center for Health Security, which had previously been affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), has joined the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
↑"Hopkins' Center for Health Security gets $16M grant". Maryland Daily Record. Associated Press. February 8, 2017. Retrieved February 8, 2017. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Center for Health Security has been awarded a three-year, $16 million grant to support work on strengthening health security and public health preparedness.
↑Center for Biosecurity of UPMC (September 21, 2007). "Biosecurity Briefing". Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
↑Center for Biosecurity of UPMC (July 15, 2011). "Biosecurity News Today". Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved February 10, 2017. Biosecurity News Today{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
↑Rob Adams (January 18, 2017). "Our Work". Retrieved February 9, 2017. Journal: The Center provides editorial oversight for the peer-reviewed journal, Health Security, which is published 6 times per year.
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