“We need to be honest with young people about biosecurity careers” by rjain 🔹
Description
Getting started (the easy part)
When I first encountered the biosecurity space in 2023, after reading former Soviet scientist Ken Alibek's memoir, I was immediately drawn to the idea of fighting infectious disease threats that had tormented human civilization for years. I had barely any experience with biology (I had taken one pandemic-era class and skipped taking AP Bio) and would consider myself more of a policy wonk than a STEM nerd. But compelling arguments about the neglectedness, tractability, and impact that biosecurity work could have on the world convinced me that it was critical for many people to be working on this issue. Over time, I began to see myself as one of those people.
Today, there are more resources than ever before to introduce people to biosecurity and give them context over the problems and solutions in the field. Many people I know have started with BlueDot Impact's Biosecurity course, resources from 80,000 Hours, and a number of great books and articles that can help students as young as high school tackle these concepts confidently.
After browsing the biosecurity ‘curriculum’, there are a number of ways to get involved and start to work on concrete projects. Programs [...]
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Outline:
(00:11 ) Getting started (the easy part)
(02:33 ) A reality check
(06:22 ) The bar for impact is high
(09:45 ) What (most) young people actually need to hear
(11:17 ) Moving forward
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First published:
November 19th, 2025
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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.
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