organization
Biosecurity
| Sentinel Bio | $555,000 | 100% | 2 |
| Date ↓ | Funder | Via | Amount | Cause | Source | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | Sentinel Bio | $225,000 | Biosecurity | sentinel_bio | We provided $225,000 to the Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC), working with the International Biosecurity and Biosafety Initiative for Science (IBBIS), to develop an auditable Know-Your-Customer (KYC) standard for nucleic acid synthesis providers. The standard will define the baseline customer information that providers must collect and verify for all orders, and at a higher bar, for orders containing sequences of concern. We hope this will create the foundation for a concrete, enforceable standard for regulators. With screening mandates under consideration in the U.S., the EU, and several other jurisdictions, the absence of a concrete, enforceable standard is one of the biggest blockers to enforceable KYC regulations. This project aims to fill that gap, producing an auditable standard designed for adoption by government authorities. This grant builds on our earlier work with the EBRC on stress-testing nucleic acid synthesis providers and complements our work with the IGSC and IBBIS on sequence screening standards. | |
| Jun 2024 | Sentinel Bio | $330,000 | Biosecurity | sentinel_bio | Stress-testing synthesis screening systems We are working with the Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC) on a $330,000 effort to develop and pilot a methodology for stress-testing (or ‘red-teaming’) systems for screening synthetic nucleic acid orders. This research effort is led by Dr. Becky Mackelprang, Dr. India Hook-Barnard, and postdoctoral researchers from the EBRC. The project is carried out in consultation with a larger number of organizations and individuals from the international biosecurity community, the gene synthesis industry, and contacts at relevant agencies in the United States government. We hope that this research will clarify existing gaps in nucleic acid governance, lay the scientific foundation for future auditing and accountability paradigms in the nucleic acid synthesis industry, and help us track our progress toward improving the prevalence and quality of global synthesis screening solutions. Visit partner website |