Tell us a little bit about your career journey: How did you come to work in biosecurity policy?

Back in high school, I became fascinated by viruses and wanted to learn about microbiology. So, I started my career in a research lab working on viruses and bacteria. I completed a PhD working on creating viral vaccine vectors, which would hopefully protect against infectious diseases.

Our work helped lay the foundation for the Ebola vaccine (ERVEBO) that was eventually licensed after the West African Ebola outbreak. In grad school, I realized that—while I loved science—I didn’t want a career as a traditional bench scientist. Instead, I wanted to explore ways to marry my love of science with my interest in policy.

My big entry into the policy field was coming to Washington DC on a Congressional Science Policy Fellowship through the American Society for Microbiology, working as a science advisor for Senator Harry Reid. Since my scientific roots were in combating infectious diseases, my career path took me towards roles where I often worked at the intersection of policy and infectious disease preparedness. I got really interested in biosecurity issues like how do we safely work with viruses and other infectious diseases to reap as many of the benefits as possible while mitigating the downsides and security challenges.

What are some of the current bio-related policy challenges you’re working on?

I currently serve as the Director of the Office of Long COVID Research and Practice in the US Department of Health and Human Services. In this role, my big challenge is combating Long COVID—the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic—and reducing its impacts on our society, health, and financial systems. So, I wake up every day to work on that challenge and go to bed thinking about that challenge.

What does a typical day look like for you?

In my previous policy roles, a typical week would look roughly as follows: a third of my time would be spent reading and doing research, either reading the primary literature (e.g. research articles in scientific journals) or government and policy documents (e.g. think tank reports and government analyses). I would spend another third of my time writing, using what I’d read and my general knowledge to draft reports, emails, presentations, and more. The final third of my time I’d spend in meetings, communicating our plans and strategies, and coordinating with other offices and government agencies.

In my current position, I spend less time on research and diving into the literature and more time administering the office I oversee. We often deal with budgets, respond to congressional inquiries, and engage with our agency leadership. Our office has a coordinating role, so I’m still doing a lot of meetings, bringing together different parts of the US government to work on Long COVID issues. I’m also still spending a fair bit of my time communicating, giving talks, and thinking through our communication strategies.

What advice do you have for those interested in a similar career path?

There’s a saying here in DC that “people are policy”. It’s important to understand that often policy decisions are driven by who is at the table when the decisions get made, including in biosecurity and science policy. As such, it’s important to work on emotional intelligence and become someone who can get along with all sorts of people. 

Relatedly, there can be a lot of turnover in policy and government roles, which can impact the continuity of the policy process since every person comes in with a different background, preferences, and expectations. This can create challenges when coordinating with other policy actors and requires patience.

What skills do you think are important for success in biosecurity policy, and how could readers acquire them?

Communication skills are incredibly important for success. Being able to synthesize complex information and communicate it clearly is like a superpower in this field, and so is getting along well with people.

Another superpower is learning how to get things done in the policy arena—really understanding processes in government, whether it’s a bureaucratic process, legislative process, or the budget process. This includes when and how to use these processes, shortcuts, and other tools to make things happen.

Are there any programs, resources, or books you’d especially recommend for those interested in biosecurity policy?

You can learn a lot about biosecurity policy from the work and publications of organizations in the field, such as the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI). I also recommend reading the reports published by the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB), which can help you understand the history of US biosecurity policy, as told by many of its foundational architects.