Inaccurate and misleading information about biological threats have become commonplace, presenting challenges to effective outbreak control, seeding distrust among affected populations in foreign response activities, and eliciting questions among security experts about the true origins of outbreaks. Some false claims may be countered through sound scientific analysis, suggesting a role for scientists to provide evidence-based, scientifically defensible information to refute such claims.
The National Academies seeks experts to serve on a Committee for Engaging a Trusted Scientific Network in Southeast Asia to Counter Misleading Information about Biological Threats. The committee, composed of scientists from Southeast Asia and the United States, will work to operationalize outcomes of a 2021 study (Addressing Inaccurate and Misleading Information about Biological Threats through Scientific Collaboration and Communication) that evaluated options for long-term engagement of scientists to identify, analyze, and address inaccurate and misleading claims about biological threats.
The results of the 2021 study included strategies for developing a trusted international network of scientists who can help to counter inaccurate and misleading information related to infectious diseases and other biological threats, and a how-to guide that provides a step-by-step process for determining whether and how to correct inaccurate and misleading information.
Based on the project objectives, nominations are requested for scientists from Southeast Asia, specifically including those from Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Singapore, as well as scientists from the United States.
Specifically sought are nominations for scientists with expertise in the following and related areas:
- Computational biology
- Data science
- Virology
- Microbiology
- Immunology
- Behavioral sciences
- Science communication
- Biosecurity, ethics, and policy
- Misinformation
- Computer science
- Team science
- Scenario-based exercises
Self-nominations are welcomed, and committee members from the 2021 study may also serve on this planning committee.
Call for Nominations — Committee for Engaging a Trusted Scientific Network in Southeast Asia to Counter Misleading Information about Biological Threats. The National Academies of Sciences, Medicine, and Engineering. Due date: 11 April 2022.
