We want more people in Oxford working to mitigate catastrophic biological risk.
A community for those in Oxford already working on biosecurity, and for those who want to.
MICHAELMAS 2026
Biosecurity and why it matters
Biosecurity work protects society from biological threats. Advances in biotechnology and AI raise the risk of catastrophic or existential biological harms. We focus on mitigating these risks.
As many AI tools for biology were released in 2023–24 as in the previous four years combined. 44% of the most advanced are fully open-source, with no sign that higher-risk tools are harder to access.
After signing the Biological Weapons Convention, the Soviet Union ran a secret bioweapons programme for two decades, employing at least 50,000 people at its height.
Get involved
Interested in biosecurity in Oxford? Sign up for updates on our launch, events, and opportunities.
Events
A launch social and an AIxBio tabletop exercise in collaboration with the Oxford AI Safety Initiative.
Programmes
A beginner fellowship and an advanced focussed discussion group. Apply by 14 October.
1:1 career conversations
If you’re unsure how you could contribute to biosecurity, sign up to see how we can help.
Who we are
The Oxford Biosecurity Hub brings Oxford’s biosecurity community together to mitigate catastrophic biological risks: fostering collaboration, accelerating impactful careers, and introducing people to the field.
Elisabeth Mira Rothweiler
Research Scholar at the Existential Risk Alliance, working on data governance and AIxBio. Pharmacist with eight years of experience in cancer and neuroscience drug discovery and a DPhil in Clinical Medicine from the University of Oxford.
Amadeu Rubiés
2026 Pivotal Frontier Biodefence Fellow, working on airway infection blockers to mitigate severe respiratory pandemics. Final-year undergraduate reading Philosophy and Economics (BA PPE) at the University of Oxford.
John Helferich
Lecturer in Politics at Hertford College, Oxford, and researcher with the Oxford Global Security Programme, working on European security and international order. DPhil in International Relations from the University of Oxford.