Dr. Aparupa Sengupta is a scientist, strategist, and biosecurity policy expert at the intersection of biological risk, artificial intelligence, and global governance. She is the Founder & CEO of Global BioFutures, an organization dedicated to ensuring that advances in modern synthetic biology and AI-biotech convergence are governed responsibly, equitably, and with genuine global representation. With over 12 years of experience spanning biological risk assessment, high-containment research leadership, international biosecurity policy, and Global South capacity development, she brings a rare combination of scientific depth and policy reach.

Prior to founding Global BioFutures, she served as a Senior Program Officer and Scientist at the Nuclear Threat Initiative’s Global Biological Policy and Programs, where she advanced AI–bio convergence risk analysis and DNA synthesis screening frameworks, and earlier led High Containment Research Laboratories at the University of California, Merced. Aparupa holds a PhD in biological sciences from Michigan Technological University, dual master’s degrees in molecular genetics and biotechnology, and is a Registered Biosafety Professional credentialed by ABSA International — bringing a multidisciplinary background that spans science, policy, and capacity-building, with a strong emphasis on translating complex risk landscapes into practical, globally relevant governance solutions.

Global alignment on sequence-screening standards is not just a technical necessity—it is a governance imperative. To be effective, these standards must reflect diverse regional realities and include voices from across the Global South, ensuring that biosecurity is both robust and equitable.