Health Security Intelligence: Managing Threats Risks and Hazards Post-Covid 19

Date: Wednesday, 4 December

Time: 2 pm - 4 pm AEDT

Venue: Charles Sturt University, Ground Floor Seminar Suite, 10-12 Brisbane Avenue, Barton ACT 2600

This event is free to attend. It will also be live-streamed. When registering for the event, you can choose the live-stream ticket to access this option.

About the event

As the acute impact of the COVID-19 pandemic recedes, many unaddressed questions remain for Australia about how to better prepare for the next likely health threat, risk or hazard.

In addition to how we enhance national public health capacity, what are the important lessons we can learn from the pandemic from national security and biosecurity perspectives?

Given the likelihood of another pandemic at some point, an increasingly uncertain geo-political order and the potential exploitation of biotechnology by bad actors how does Australia and its allies better prepare for a future of increasingly complex health security and biological security threats, risks and hazards?

This event is for all health security intelligence stakeholders (policy-makers, national security staff, scientists, researchers and clinicians) who work across the one health continuum and national security agencies.

It will introduce participants to Charles Sturt’s extensive research agenda across the one health biosecurity, health and biological security and discuss both their national security and scientific implications. You will hear briefings from key researchers across both STEM and social sciences disciplines working on assessing key health security threats, risks and hazards relevant to your work.

Schedule of the event:

2 pm: Professor Mark Evans, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) introduces Charles Sturt’s Biosecurity and Health Security Research Capabilities
2:20 pm: Professor Patrick F Walsh discusses health security intelligence post COVID-19 and national security implications.
2:45 pm: Professor Seumas Miller discusses genomic security and ethical implication of dual use biological research.
3:05 pm: Professor Jade Forward outlines key biosecurity research at Charles Sturt
330-4:00 pm: Q and A session (Coffee and Tea provided)

Professor Mark Evans is Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at Charles Sturt University. He has significantly contributed to advancing change governance practices and has served as a senior policy advisor, designer of leadership programs, and chief investigator for research and evaluation projects in 26 countries, as well as for the European Union, United Nations, and World Bank. Mark has collaborated with every state and territory in Australia and numerous Commonwealth departments on change governance issues. His research centers on governance and public policy. His latest book, Saving Democracy, co-authored with Professor Gerry Stoker, was published by Bloomsbury Books.

Professor Jade Forwood leads the Biosecurity and THRIIVE research programs. He obtained his PhD from the Australian National University. He has been recognised with awards including the University Medal, the Frank Fenner Medal, an NHMRC CJ Martin Fellowship, an ARC Future Fellowship, and the FAOBMB Young Scientist Award. His academic and research training includes work on the Dengue virus at JCU, gene therapy at ANU, and postdoctoral research across a range of areas including stem cells at Bresagen (Adelaide), colon cancer at the Laboratory for Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK, and immune activation at the University of Queensland. As a principal investigator, Jade has successfully secured over 30 grants, totalling more than $40 million, including 7 NHMRC grants, 2 NIH grants, and 2 ARC grants. At Charles Sturt University, Professor Forwood's independent research lab focuses on antiviral research, vaccine development, and drug design, contributing to biosecurity and medical research.

Seumas Miller is a Professor of Philosophy at the Australian Graduate School of Policing and Security at Charles Sturt University and a Distinguished Research Fellow at the Uehiro Institute of Practical Ethics at the University of Oxford. He is the author or 22 books and over 250 academic articles and was the Foundation Director of the ARC Special Research Centre in Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics. He is currently a Chief Investigator on the NHMRC Grant, Addressing emerging ethical, legal and social issues in the governance of clinical and genomic datasets to improve human health.

Professor Patrick F Walsh is a former intelligence analyst and Professor in Intelligence and Security Studies in the Australian Graduate School of Policing and Security, Charles Sturt University. His research portfolio stretches over a number of national security intelligence policy/reform issues including the national security implications of health and biology. He has recently edited the book: Health Security Intelligence: Managing Emerging Threats and Risks in a Post COVID World, Routledge.

Parking details

Some onsite parking available but limited. Parking on Brisbane Avenue is the best option