Pandemic & Biosecurity Policy Program

Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs

About

The Scowcroft Institute for International Affairs was created as a research institute within the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. Named for Lt. General Brent Scowcroft, USAF (Ret.), the Institute’s core mission is to develop and disseminate policy-oriented research on international affairs, host speakers and major conferences, and provide grants to researchers outside of the Institute. In recent years, the Institute has expanded its focus beyond traditional international affairs to tackle the daunting challenge of pandemics.

The Pandemic and Biosecurity Policy Program is an educational, research, and policy program targeting current challenges in pandemic and bioterrorism preparedness and response. Since the Initiative’s inception the program has grown to include an annual conference in College Station, TX, as well as one at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. We have developed course work in infectious disease, pandemics, and bioterrorism for students of the Bush School and are in the process of developing an academic concentration that would allow our students to specialize in this topic area. Lastly, we have begun construction of an online platform titled the Scowcroft Infectious Disease Information Platform (SIDIP), with the goal of creating a high-quality, centralized location for information on infectious disease that is accessible to scientists, policy-makers, and the public.

Our goal for this program is to place the Scowcroft Institute, The Bush School of Government and Public Service, and Texas A&M University as an international leader in pandemic and bioterrorism preparedness and response through education, research, and work in the policy arena.