Safety and Security in the Lithotroph of Microbiology—A Commentary

This article is a requested personal commentary for this project based on my 20+ years of experience working nationally and globally in the advocacy of safe research and the promotion of biosafety and biosecurity. Although neither a scientist nor a professional practitioner of biosafety or biosecurity, I have probably participated in more training programs and more national and international forums on the topic than the vast majority of those who manage or regulate laboratory safety. The commentary relies on my personal history that includes assisting others to develop national and regional biosafety associations globally as well as the International Federation of Biosafety Associations. I have been an invited participant and speaker in meetings with organizations and agencies such as the U.S. National Academies of Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science, U.S. National Institutes of Health, World Health Organization, U.S. Centers for Disease Control, World Bank, INTERPOL, CBRNE, Prince Mahidol Award Conference, World Organisation for Animal Health, CORDS, World Science Forum, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Agriculture-ARS, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperative. I have served as an elected member of the American Biological Safety Association (ABSA) International Council and served as the first chair of the Global Health Security Agenda Consortium. I am a recipient of the John H. Richardson Award from ABSA International, an honorary member of the Association of Primate Veterinarians and am a member of the International Veterinary Biosafety Working Group. Unlike other contributors to this body of work, I am neither a biosafety/biosecurity professional nor a microbiologist. In fact, I am not even a scientist. What I am-and how I am best known nationally and globally-is a faithful advocate of responsible, safe, and secure research. From the beginning of my 20-year career as the executive director of the Elizabeth R. Griffin Foundation until my retirement from full-time work in 2019, I traveled the United States and every continent except Australia promoting safe science to those within the research world and as an advocate for the importance of that world to those not within it.