Meet the Youth for Biosecurity Fellows 2023!

We are excited to announce the 2023 cohort of the Youth for Biosecurity Fellowship!

The 20 fellows portrayed below were selected through a competitive process after more than 800 applications from over 80 countries were received. We are grateful to the 2023 Youth for Biosecurity Fellowship Jury Panel for supporting the selection process. The Jury Panel was composed of eight experienced young professionals in biosecurity policy.

2023 Youth for Biosecurity Fellowship Jury Panel:

  • Mayra Ameneiros, Research Associate, Centre for Science and Security Studies, King’s College London; Deputy Coordinator, The Next Generation Global Health Security Network
  • Gabby Essix, Program Officer, Global Biological Policy and Programs, Nuclear Threat Initiative
  • Maria Garzon, Associate Researcher, WMD and Space Security Programmes, United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research
  • Nils Justen, Ending Bioweapons Fellow at the Council on Strategic Risks
  • Suryesh Namdeo, Visiting scholar at the DST Centre for Policy Research at the Indian Institute of Science
  • Stephanie Norlock, Program Officer, International Federation of Biosafety Associations
  • Lizeka Tandwa, Lecturer at the Steve Biko Centre for Bioethics, The University of the Witwatersrand
  • Ryan Teo, Visiting Researcher at the University of Birmingham

The Fellowship will take the 20 talented early-career scientists listed below, who represent 17 countries from the Global South, through a three-month learning journey featuring an online Biosecurity Diplomacy Workshop followed by an in-person visit to Geneva during the meeting of the BWC Working Group on the Strengthening of the Convention in August 2023.

Through this programme, UNODA expects to create space for dialogue between young scientists and BWC practitioners. UNODA aims at providing fellows with the knowledge, skills, and network to advance the next generation aspirations for global biosecurity in the margins of BWC official meetings.

Click on the Fellows’ names for their complete biographies!