The National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) is a federal advisory committee that “addresses issues related to biosecurity and dual use research at the request of the United States Government.”

According its website, the NSABB “has up to 25 voting members with a broad range of expertise including molecular biology, microbiology, infectious diseases, biosafety, public health, veterinary medicine, plant health, national security, biodefense, law enforcement, scientific publishing, and other related fields.”

It can now add “moral philosophy” to that list.

Alex John London, the Clara L. West Professor of Ethics and Philosophy at Carnegie Mellon University, will be joining the NSABB.

He announced on Twitter, “Today I signed a letter accepting the invitation from the Secretary of Health and Human Services to serve on the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB). I will do my best to serve with integrity.”

Professor London’s research has focused on “ethical and policy issues surrounding the development and deployment of novel technologies in medicine, biotechnology and artificial intelligence, on methodological issues in theoretical and practical ethics, and on cross-national issues of justice and fairness.” You can learn more about his work here, and more about the work of the NSABB here.