Piers D. Millett, Ph.D. is Executive Director of the International Biosecurity and Biosafety Initiative for Science (IBBIS). Dr. Millett is a certified biorisk management professional, with a specialization in biosecurity. Dr. Millett was Deputy Head of the Implementation Support Unit for the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), a treaty for which he worked for over a decade. He has consulted for the World Health Organization, supporting its integration of research and development into responses to public health emergencies and considering the health implications of advances in technology. As Vice President for Responsibility for iGEM Foundation (International Genetically Engineered Machines Competition), Dr. Millett established and ran a program strengthening the culture of responsibility and risk management with more than 350 projects each year, involving more than 6,000 young scientists and engineers from 45 countries across every inhabited continent. Trained originally as a microbiologist, Dr. Millett has worked closely with the citizen science movement, synthetic biologists, the biotechnology industry as well as national and international policymakers and decisionmakers. He has collaborated with a range of intergovernmental organizations spanning human and animal health, humanitarian law, disarmament, security, border control, law enforcement, and weapons of mass destruction— both inside and out of the United Nations system. He holds a Ph.D. in International Relations and Affairs, an MRes in Research Methodology, and an MA in International Politics and Security Studies—all from the University of Bradford. He has a BSc in Microbiology from the University of Leeds.

Tessa Alexanian is the Technical Lead for the Common Mechanism, an international baseline for nucleic acid synthesis screening. Her previous work has focused on modular lab automation, assessing dual-use risks in synthetic biology projects, bioweapons convention compliance, and creating cultures of responsibility. Tessa wrangled robots to do bioengineering for four years at Zymergen, served for two years at the iGEM Competition’s Safety and Security officer, and has collaborated with organizations including Open Philanthropy, RAND, and the Council on Strategic Risks. She holds a 2023 Council on Strategic Risks Fellowship for Ending Bioweapons, and was a 2022 ELBI fellow, 2020 Foresight Fellow, and 2017 iGEM BWC delegate.  

Mayra Ameneiros is a Senior Fellow at the International Biosecurity and Biosafety Initiative for Science. Ameneiros holds a BSc and MSc in Biochemistry, with a specialization in Biotechnology. She is a certified professional in biorisk management and biosecurity accredited by the International Federation of Biosafety Associations, where she has also acted as a Mentor of the IFBA Global Mentorship Program. Ameneiros is a member of the WHO Health-Security Interface Technical Advisory Group (HSI-TAG), providing independent advice to WHO on strategic priorities and plans of action related to the health-security interface, including preparedness and response to deliberate events and to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats. Ameneiros serves on the Board of Directors of NextGen, where she is also the liaison to the Global Health Security Agenda Consortium´s Steering Committee and APP3 Group on Biosafety and Biosecurity; as well as the NGO working group of the Biological Weapons Convention. She is a Senior Advisor for Sandia National Laboratories, an Affiliated Expert at CRDF Global, and an in-country SME for Health Security Partners. She actively contributes to capacity building efforts throughout Latin America, promoting awareness of biorisk management, biosecurity, cyber-biosecurity, research security, responsible science and dual-use research. Ameneiros was a 2022 ELBI Fellow from Johns Hopkins University and a 2022 ACONA Fellow from Harvard University. Prior to her current engagements, she served as a Research Associate at King's College London, Centre for Science and Security Studies.