Toggle – Michael Parker

Michael Parker is an Assistant Dean at Georgetown University, where he advises Biology and Chemistry undergraduate degrees, teaches technical and policy coursework in the biology department, sits on a variety of university committees, and leads a team of undergraduate researchers in biosecurity policy. Dr. Parker holds a PhD in Immunobiology from Yale University, where he studied the mammalian innate immune response to viral infections, with particular focus on detection of RNA viruses by DNA sensing pathways. He has published work applicable in a variety of fields, including genetics, genomics, virology, immunology, microbiology, and biosecurity policy. Since receiving an Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Fellowship in 2019, Dr. Parker has led a philanthropically funded research program that transposes his technical background (virology, immunology) into biosecurity policy work, which blends techniques of social science, philosophy, biology, and history. His group’s focus is to document and analyze the history of regulations that govern access to the most dangerous biological agents, using this knowledge to extrapolate trends, uncover lessons learned, and provide ideas to inform modern biosecurity. To date, Dr. Parker’s research has provided key insights into historical aspects of biosecurity analysis and governance in the United States, spanning topics including biological weapons, synthetic nucleic acids, chimeric viruses, and more.