We analyze trends to help government and society harness biotechnology’s potential to promote health and new industries, as well as understand the potential for its misuse. It includes examination of the biotechnology workforce, infrastructure and funding that supports biotechnology research. Research topics include biological safety infrastructure and regulations, global biosecurity policies, genome editing techniques and the use of AI in biological discovery.

Formal Response

RFI Response: Office of Science and Technology Policy’s Accelerating the American Scientific Enterprise Request for Information

Steph Batalis, Jack Karsten, and Julie George

| December 19, 2025

CSET submitted the following response to the White House Office of Science and Technology in support of its "Accelerating the American Scientific Enterprise initiative.

Reports

Biotech Manufacturing Apprenticeships

Luke Koslosky, Steph Batalis, and Ronnie Kinoshita

| August 2025

This report examines lessons from the North Carolina Life Sciences Apprenticeship Consortium for pharmaceutical and biomanufacturing workforce development, and analyzes how apprenticeship programs help address workforce shortages in emerging tech fields. It offers a practical framework with important considerations for designing and launching programs, and serves as a resource for...

Data Snapshot

The NIH’s Impact on Research and Innovation

Katherine Quinn, Steph Batalis, and Rebecca Gelles

| August 7, 2025

Data Snapshots are informative descriptions and quick analyses that dig into CSET’s unique data resources. This three-part series introduces CSET’s patent clusters, which connect related patents through citations and text similarity.

Blog

Prize Competitions and the Genesis Mission

Steph Batalis and Ali Crawford

| February 18, 2026

Ambitious projects to accelerate AI-driven scientific discovery such as the Genesis Mission aim to unlock large federal datasets and incentivize private-sector participation. This blog examines how federal prize competitions—recognized in the Genesis Mission, the FY26 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and recommendations from the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology—can...

Blog

Exploring AI Methods in Biology Research

Steph Batalis, Catherine Aiken, and James Dunham

| April 21, 2025

Opposing narratives around AI for biotechnology raise the question: how are biotech researchers actually using AI in published research? CSET’s Steph Batalis, Catherine Aiken, and James Dunham explored this question by leveraging CSET’s merged academic corpus, enriched publication metadata, and research clusters.

Blog

Assessing the Next Frontier in Medical Research: Artificial Intelligence and Computational Biology

Charliste Hampton

| September 12, 2024

Artificial intelligence is becoming more integrated into the sciences. One of the scientific fields experiencing this is computational biology, which uses computer modeling to understand biological mechanisms and systems. This blog post provides an understanding of important research trends in these subject areas, and how advancements in AI can improve...

Katherine Quinn

Data Scientist

Steph Batalis

Research Fellow

Vikram Venkatram

Research Analyst

CSET's Steph Batalis shared her expert analysis in an op-ed published by DefenseOne. In her piece, she highlights how the United States’ faltering response to the ongoing measles outbreak reveals serious vulnerabilities in the nation’s public health and biodefense infrastructure.

CSET's Steph Batalis and Vikram Venkatram shared their expert analysis in an op-ed published by The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. The article explores discusses the complexities and challenges of screening DNA synthesis orders to prevent misuse of potentially dangerous genetic sequences.

In a Washington Post article that delves into China's extensive efforts to collect genetic data from around the world, using innovative technology, CSET's Anna Puglisi provided her expert insights.

CSET's Anna Puglisi was featured in a Nature article along with a report she co-authored. The article discusses the challenges faced by US policymakers in regulating research involving potentially harmful pathogens. The focal point of the discussion is the CSET report titled “Understanding the Global Gain-of-Function Research Landscape.”

CSET Director of Biotechnology Programs and Senior Fellow Anna Puglisi provided insights into China's illicit efforts to acquire genetic data from the United States in Politico's Morning Cybersecurity. She pointed out that such data will serve a wide variety of interests, from health care to agriculture. “It’s enablers like sequencing and other tools of discovery that are going to drive the bioeconomy, that are going to drive precision medicine,” she said. “The more data you have, the more you can start to understand what genes do.”