Programmes
Our Programmes are designed to foster leadership, interdisciplinary thinking, and responsible innovation in the life sciences and policy ecosystem.
Bio-Responsibility Future Leaders Programme
The Bio-Responsibility Future Leaders Programme (BFLP) is a year-long, part-time training programme focused on building the future leaders to promote safe, secure and responsible research and innovation in life sciences in India. The programme is run by the Centre for Society and Policy, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. The programme strives to create national capacity at the intersection of life sciences, security, and policy by training and supporting emerging leaders through interactive workshops, seminars, and high-level policy engagements.
Scope of the Programme
The programme defines bio-responsibility as a set of practices to ensure safe, secure and responsible use of life science research. The topics covered under this programme include (but not limited to) risks associated with AI-Biology interface, synthetic biology, neurotechnology, human augmentation, cyber-biosecurity, dual-use research, gain-of-function research, permafrost-associated pathogens, etc.
Over time, the programme will expand into a broader network of trained professionals. This network will strive to understand the technical and policy intricacies to develop policy solutions towards achieving holistic bio-responsibility without impeding innovation.
BFLP First Cohort
Bio-Responsibility Collective Comic Series
This comic series by the Bio-Responsibility Collective uses visual storytelling to explore complex issues at the intersection of life sciences, ethics, and security. Through engaging narratives, we introduce risks associated with emerging biotechnologies and the importance of responsible innovation. The series aims to make critical conversations around science, security, and policy more accessible to diverse audiences.
What keeps dangerous microbes in check and keeps malicious actors out? This comic unpacks the fine line between biosafety and biosecurity, showing how preventing accidents and preventing misuse are two sides of bio-responsibility.
What if scientists could flip life’s molecular “handedness” and build a mirror organism, inaccessible to our immune system, resistant to all antibiotics, and uncontrollable by nature?
How does zoonotic disease spread across reservoirs, livestock, and the food system? This comic is a reminder that responsible life sciences research starts with understanding the animal-human interface, because the next pandemic begins long before it is detected.
Bio-design Tools explores a question that defines our times: What happens when code begins to shape biology? From faster medicines and smarter diagnostics to emerging biosecurity concerns, this comic looks at the promise, power, and responsibility that come with AI-enabled bioscience.
This comic explores how systems level vulnerabilities are enhanced due to rapidly growing AI capabilities. It discusses benefits, risks and potential solution due to these challenges. It highlights the cases related to AI-fuelled misinformation, AI-fuelled disinformation and AI-enhanced Cyber-bio risks.
What keeps dangerous microbes in check and keeps malicious actors out? This comic unpacks the fine line between biosafety and biosecurity, showing how preventing accidents and preventing misuse are two sides of bio-responsibility.
What if scientists could flip life’s molecular “handedness” and build a mirror organism, inaccessible to our immune system, resistant to all antibiotics, and uncontrollable by nature?
How does zoonotic disease spread across reservoirs, livestock, and the food system? This comic is a reminder that responsible life sciences research starts with understanding the animal-human interface, because the next pandemic begins long before it is detected.
Bio-design Tools explores a question that defines our times: What happens when code begins to shape biology? From faster medicines and smarter diagnostics to emerging biosecurity concerns, this comic looks at the promise, power, and responsibility that come with AI-enabled bioscience.
This comic explores how systems level vulnerabilities are enhanced due to rapidly growing AI capabilities. It discusses benefits, risks and potential solution due to these challenges. It highlights the cases related to AI-fuelled misinformation, AI-fuelled disinformation and AI-enhanced Cyber-bio risks.