Workshop to raise awareness of issues related to "dual-use research of concern" – Tuesday February 21

According to WHO, the term dual-use research of concern (DURC) describes research that is intended to provide a clear benefit, but which could easily be misapplied to do harm. It usually refers to work in the life sciences, but the principles are also applicable to other fields including engineering and information technology. It encompasses everything from information to specific products that have the potential to create negative consequences for health and safety, agriculture, the environment or national security.

In other words, DURC is research that might reasonably be anticipated to produce knowledge, information, products or technologies that, if misused, could represent a threat, especially for public health, the environment or safety and security.

Many of the experiments conducted at the Institut Pasteur may fall within this category: SARS-CoV-2 reverse genetics, the generation of chimeric viruses, botulinum toxin, etc.

In spring 2021, to create a framework for experiments of this nature and reduce the related risks, the Institut Pasteur introduced a procedure for monitoring such projects, with a multidisciplinary, scaled evaluation based on a questionnaire that was previously implemented for the ethical monitoring of research funded by the European Commission.

If you think you may be involved in experimental research that comes under this category, whether you are a technician, engineer, PhD student, postdoctoral fellow, scientist or head of unit, the Legal Affairs Department is running a practical workshop to raise awareness of the issue on February 21, 2023, from 10am to 12 noon (in person only). You will be notified of the venue following the registration process.

The aim of the workshop is to raise awareness among research teams of the issues related to dual-use research of concern and to familiarize them with the internal monitoring process applied to this research.

After a short presentation of the topic, participants will be asked to take on the role of members of the committee responsible for assessing dual-use research projects and to propose guidelines.
 

To sign up, please email durc@pasteur.fr (maximum number of spaces: 16).