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Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Fellowship

About the ELBI Fellowship

The Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity (ELBI) Fellowship inspires and connects the next generation of biosecurity leaders and innovators.

Launched in 2012, ELBI is a highly competitive, part-time program that provides an opportunity for talented graduate students and professionals to deepen their expertise, expand their network, and build their leadership skills through a series of events coordinated by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

The fellowship boasts almost 300 alumni with backgrounds in government, national security, private industry, science, law, public health, medicine, global health, journalism, the social sciences, and academia.

Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Fellowship

As an ELBI fellow, you will:

  • Learn about biosecurity history, policy, and practice
  • Identify career development opportunities in the biosecurity field
  • Network with senior biosecurity leaders
  • Connect with other talented graduate students and professionals working on important biosecurity initiatives
  • Develop and sharpen key professional skills to advance your career
  • Access resources and participate in events focused on the most current, relevant topics in biosecurity
     

Program overview

The part-time fellowship runs over a 10-month period and requires a minimal time commitment to accommodate fellows’ busy work or academic schedules. There is no need for fellows to relocate.

Activities include:

  • A biosecurity workshop and networking event in the Washington, DC area
  • A biosecurity workshop and networking event in an international location
  • An ELBI research and practice symposium with ELBI alumni in the Washington, DC area
  • Additional networking events

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security covers travel expenses (air and ground), meals, and lodging for the 2 workshops and the symposium.

 

Application requirements

To be eligible to apply, prospective fellows must:

  • Have graduated from a masters or doctoral program, be currently enrolled in a doctoral program, OR have at least 3 years of professional experience in national security, public health, medicine, biotechnology, laboratory sciences, global health, or a related field
  • Be from countries that do not have standing embargoes or sanctions as determined by the US Department of State or US Department of Treasury, respectively

Prospective fellows must submit all required application materials by the date listed on the ELBI application page.

The ELBI program accepts about 28 to 30 fellows into each class.
 

Program Staff

  • Tom Inglesby, MD
    Director
  • Anita Cicero, JD
    Deputy Director
  • Amanda K. Mui, MPH
    Managing Senior Analyst & ELBI Program Director
  • Benjamin Wakefield, MSc
    Senior Analyst & ELBI Program Deputy Director
  • Crystal Watson, DrPH, MPH
    Senior Scholar

 

Current Fellows

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security has accepted 30 professionals and scholars into its Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Initiative (ELBI) fellowship program for 2024. The 2024 ELBI Fellows are:

  • Adejare (Jay) Atanda, Department of Homeland Security, Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office
  • Kyla Britson, HHS/ASPR/BARDA
  • Audrey Cerles, Gryphon Scientific
  • Samuel Curtis, The Future Society
  • Barbara Del Castello, RAND Corporation
  • Christopher East, The Council on Strategic Risks
  • Francesco Gaetano Fazzi, KPMG
  • Kevin Flyangolts, Aclid
  • Lauren Formica, Deloitte
  • Anemone Franz, 80,000 Hours
  • Charlotte Hammer, University of Cambridge
  • Seth Judson, Johns Hopkins University
  • Abraar Karan, Stanford University, Division of Infectious Diseases & Geographic Medicine
  • Karishma Krishna Kurup, Chatham House
  • Nang Thu Thu Kyaw, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (assignee to NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene)
  • Chris Li, Harvard University
  • Louison Mazeaud, United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR)
  • Zeena Nisar, National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology
  • Kikiope Oluwarore, World Health Organization
  • Paul Opheim, Department of the Air Force
  • Cristian Ovadiuc, University of Washington School of Public Health
  • Bernard Owusu Agyare, Center for Global Health Science and Security (CGHSS) - Georgetown University
  • Andreas Prenner, European Commission
  • Claire Qureshi, Helena / Effective Giving
  • Daniel Rice, SecureBio / Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Andrew Rosenblum, American University Washington College of Law
  • Philippe Sessou, University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin Republic
  • Alex Tasker, University of Bristol
  • Iris Vennis, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), The Netherlands
  • Nicole Wheeler, Institute of Microbiology and Infection, University of Birmingham

Alumni

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security accepts a diverse group of professionals and scholars into each class of the Emerging Leaders in Biosecurity Fellowship (ELBI) program.

Class of 2023
  • Oluwatosin Akande, World Health Organization
  • Rahul Arora, University of Calgary
  • Fatima Aziz, Aga Khan University
  • Bill Beaver, US Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy
  • Gemma Bowsher, King’s College London
  • Will Bradshaw, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Bangin Brim, European Commission Health Emergency and Response Authority (HERA)
  • Nathan Calvin, US Senate, Office of Senator Alex Padilla
  • Maggie Davis, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO)
  • Jasmine Dhaliwal, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
  • Mariam Elgabry, Bronic
  • Matthew Ferreira, George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government
  • Anjali Gopal, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Stephanie Guerra, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
  • Suryateja Jammalamadaka, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Nils Justen, United Nations Office of Disarmament Affairs
  • Sarah Koeller, Chester County Health Department
  • Natalie Linton, California Department of Public Health
  • Geoffrey Namara, World Health Organization Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence
  • Judith Okolo, Nigeria National Biotechnology Development Agency
  • Scott Olesen, Biobot
  • Edyth Parker, Scripps Research
  • Sophie Rose, Council on Strategic Risks
  • Pingdewinde Sam, Boston Consulting Group
  • João Simões, European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (EUROPOL)
  • Michaela Simoneau, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
  • Aleksandar Stoller, Tulane University
  • Joel Straus, Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)
  • Nikki Teran, Guarding Against Pandemics
  • Kim Trollope, Stellensbosch University
  • Katarina Watney, US Health and Human Services Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR)
Class of 2022
  • Janvi Ahuja, Future of Humanity Institute
  • Patricia Akinfenwa, Twist Bioscience
  • Tessa Alexanian, iGEM Foundation
  • Mayra Ameneiros, King’s College London
  • Anna Bezruki, Georgetown University
  • Rihana Diabo, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI)
  • Ryan Duncombe, Alvea
  • Lennox Kesington Ebbarnezh, Makarere University
  • Richard Egan, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory
  • Daniel Greene, Stanford University
  • Hannah Herzig, European Commission
  • Christopher Hoover, California Department of Public Health
  • Melissa Hopkins, U.S. House of Representatives
  • Heather Kromer, Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI)
  • Georgia Lagoudas, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
  • Kumiko Lippold, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA)
  • Niall McGlynn, Irish Public Service
  • Opeayo Ogundiran, World Health Organization
  • Jassi Pannu, Stanford University
  • James Petrie, University of Waterloo
  • Benjamin Rader, Boston Children's Hospital
  • Jonas Sandbrink, Future of Humanity Institute
  • Emma Saunders, Chatham House
  • Noor Shakfeh, United Nations Foundation
  • Shalini Singaravelu, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
  • Vivian Smith, Battelle Memorial Institute
  • Kathleen Stevens, U.S. Department of State
  • Cindy Vindman, U.S. Army DEVCOM, Army Research Lab
  • Josh Wentzel, U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee
  • Chenny Zhang, In-Q-Tel
Class of 2021
  • Peter Ababwe Babigumira, Infectious Diseases Institute, Makerere University
  • Christopher Bakerlee, Harvard University
  • Sara Bazaco, Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch
  • JJ Ben-Joseph, In-Q-Tel
  • Isha Berry, University of Toronto
  • Kelly Chafin, National Security Council
  • Neil Cherian, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI)
  • Jennifer Garland, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
  • Daniel Gastfriend, Office of Management and Budget
  • Nicholas Generous, US House of Representatives, Committee on Homeland Security
  • Hugh Green, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • Gavin Harris, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
  • Krutika Kuppalli, Stanford Health Care
  • Allen Lin, Ragon Institute, Harvard University
  • Andrew Liu, Harvard Medical School
  • Danielle Lohman, Department of State
  • T. Greg McKelvey, ASAPP
  • Cassidy Nelson, Future of Humanity Institute, University of Oxford
  • Martha Ngoh, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO)
  • Resham Patel, Public Health – Seattle and King County
  • Giovanna Pontes, Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)
  • Harsha Rajashekharaiah, Center for Humanitarian Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
  • Michelle Rourke, Griffith University Law School
  • Sterling Sawaya, GeneInfoSec
  • Sonya Stokes, Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine
  • Allison Totura, US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID)
  • Edward van Opstal, Department of Defense Human Systems Directorate
  • Benjamin Wakefield, Centre on Global Health Security, Chatham House
  • Kate Whittemore, Resolve to Save Lives
  • Nathalie Zeitouni, National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC); Battelle National Biodefense Institute
Class of 2019
  • Emmanuel Agogo, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control
  • Oluwayemisi Ajumobi, The World Bank
  • Ethan Alley, Center for Effective Altruism & George Church Lab at Harvard Medical School
  • Frances Butcher, Oxford School of Public Health
  • Angel Desai, Massachusetts General Hospital
  • Mark Eccleston-Turner, University of Keele
  • Claire Marie Filone, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory
  • Hayden Huang, Government Accountability Office
  • Justin Hurt, Federal Bureau of Investigation
  • Salah Issa, USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture
  • Christine Jones, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
  • Rebecca Kahn, Harvard Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics
  • Seth Kroop, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • Aditya Kunjapur, University of Delaware
  • Anastasia Lambrou, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
  • Greg Lewis, Future of Humanity Institute
  • Karen Martins, USAMRIID
  • Robert Mayall, University of Calgary, FREDsense Technologies
  • Cody Minks, SSM Health
  • Michelle Murti, Public Health Ontario
  • Michael Parker, McDaniel College
  • Shanna Ratnesar-Shumate, National Threat Characterization Center (NBACC)
  • Brian Renda, Ginkgo Bioworks
  • Emily Ricotta, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
  • Emily Rosenblum, Department of Energy
  • Joseph Simmond-Issler, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI)
  • Jacob Swett, University of Oxford
  • Christine Tomlinson, Applied Research Associates
  • Benjamin Trump, Engineer Research and Development Center - U.S. Army
  • Robert Tuttle, Defense Threat Reduction Agency
Class of 2018
ELBI Class of 2018
  • Warren Acuncius, US Agency for International Development
  • Evan Appleton, Harvard Medical School
  • Hattie Chung, Harvard University & The Broad Institute
  • Lina Faller, Ginkgo Bioworks
  • Michelle Holko, Booz Allen Hamilton
  • Gabriel Innes, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
  • Christopher Isaac, University of Lethbridge
  • Kirsten Kulcsar, University of Maryland School of Medicine
  • Joseph Lewnard, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health
  • Yong-Bee Lim, George Mason University
  • Natalie Ma, Clearview Healthcare Partners
  • Lucia Mullen, World Health Organization
  • Tiffany Nguyen, US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases
  • Lauren Oldfield, J. Craig Venter Institute
  • Keith Pardee, University of Toronto
  • Jenish Patel, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH
  • Edward Perello, Desktop Genetics
  • Aaron Resnick, Northwest Healthcare Response Network
  • Michelle Rozo, AAAS Congressional Fellow
  • Lauren Sauer, Johns Hopkins University
  • Jordan Schermerhorn, Pratt Pouch Consulting & Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
  • Andrew Snyder-Beattie, University of Oxford
  • Carl Soffler, US Army Medical Materiel Development Activity
  • Gregory Sunshine, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • Alexander Titus, Dartmouth College
  • Neil Vora, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
  • Matt Walsh, MIT Lincoln Laboratory
  • Benjamin Winer, Princeton University
Class of 2017
ELBI Class of 2017
  • Martin Adams, GSS Health
  • Aurora Amoah, Independent Consultant, The World Bank Group
  • Brandy Burgess, University of Georgia
  • Marija Cemma, Canadian Food Inspection Agency
  • Christopher Chadwick, US Department of Health and Human Services
  • Jessica Dymond, Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory
  • Ngozi Erondu, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
  • Stuart Evenhaugen, US Department of Homeland Security
  • Mary Margaret Fill, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • Jeffrey Fortman, Analytical Services, Inc
  • Jeffrey Freeman, Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory
  • Andrew Herr, Georgetown University
  • Alison Hill, Harvard University
  • Adrienne Keen, US Department of State
  • Daniel Leifer, Lurie Children’s Hospital/McGaw Center of Northwestern University
  • Brandon Lloyd Dean, Los Angeles County Public Health Department
  • Emily Lord, Healthcare Ready
  • Syra Madad, NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation
  • Matthew Moe, US Department of Homeland Security
  • Patricia Pacheco Hernandez, Sandia National Laboratories
  • Justin Pahara, Amino Labs Inc/Synbiota Inc
  • James Phillips, George Washington University Hospital
  • Saskia Popescu, George Mason University
  • Betsey Pugel, NASA
  • John Scarbeck, Federal Bureau of Investigation
  • Carolyn Shore, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
  • Sapana Vora, US Department of State
  • Simon Weller, UK Ministry of Defence