JHU Center for Health Security receives $16M grant from Open Philanthropy Project

Three-year award will focus on strengthening understanding of—and response to—serious biological risks

The Center for Health Security at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has been awarded a three-year, $16 million grant from the Open Philanthropy Project to support the center's work on strengthening health security and public health preparedness.

"This grant will have a transformative impact on our work and our ability to make a difference."
Tom Inglesby
Director, Center for Health Security

The grant will focus on strengthening the understanding of and response to serious biological risks; assessing how new technologies could reduce or deepen those risks; improving biosafety norms and approaches internationally; and increasing the awareness of policymakers in the United States and internationally about the most important biosecurity and pandemic challenges.

"It is gratifying to see a philanthropic organization committing such substantial new resources to issues we care so deeply about—research and advocacy on biosecurity and global biological risk," said Tom Inglesby, director of the center, which rejoined the Bloomberg School last month. "This grant will have a transformative impact on our work and our ability to make a difference."

The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security's mission is to protect people's health from the consequences of epidemics and disasters and ensure that communities are resilient to major challenges. The center studies the policies, organizations, systems, and tools needed to prevent and respond to epidemics and public health crises.

The Open Philanthropy Project identifies outstanding giving opportunities, awards grants, tracks the results, and publishes the findings. Its mission is to give effectively and share findings openly so that others may build on them. One of the project's focus areas is global catastrophic risks, including biosecurity and pandemic preparedness.

"Our goals and mission are a great match with those of the Open Philanthropy Project," said Anita Cicero, the center's deputy director. "We are honored by their confidence in us and look forward to an extraordinary collaboration that will have a significant impact on biosecurity and preparedness."