ERA, in partnership with the Cambridge Biosecurity Hub, is launching a new 8-week, full-time AIxBiosecurity research fellowship dedicated to tackling biosecurity risks amplified by recent advances in frontier AI capabilities. This fully funded programme equips researchers to investigate ways to reduce extreme risks from engineered and natural biological threats amid rapidly advancing biotechnology and emerging AI capabilities. 

The deadline to apply is November 5th, 23:59 UTC  —->  Apply here.

If you are interested in mentoring fellows on this programme, please submit this expression of interest form. 

If you know other people who would be a good fit, please encourage them to apply. We find that people are much more likely to apply if they are recommended to do so, even if they have already heard of the opportunity. 

If you are a leader or organiser of relevant community spaces, we encourage you to post an announcement with a link to this post.

Key details at a glance:

• Duration: 8 weeks full-time, during 26th January - 20th March
• Location: Cambridge, UK
• Application process for potential fellows:
  • Written application - deadline 5th November (Apply here)
  • First interviews held week starting 10th November
  • Final offers sent week starting 24th November

Why are we running this programme? 

Our mission is to advance the scientific and policy breakthroughs required for mitigating risks at the AIxBiosecurity interface. We hope to accelerate research to strengthen global resilience and to reduce the likelihood of catastrophic pandemics. We think there are many tractable projects to meaningfully advance biosecurity, and we are excited to support top talent who want to directly contribute to this research. 

Working with our expert mentors from leading AI and biosecurity teams, our AIxBio fellows will work directly on concrete research projects while building deep expertise across both the domains.

What we provide

• Stipend: £5,250 total
• Complimentary accommodation, meal provisions during working hours, and travel expense coverage 
• Dedicated desk space at our office in central Cambridge 
• Mentorship from an expert mentor and research management 
• Opportunity to work either on a group research project with other fellows or individually 
• Networking and learning opportunities through various events
• Community health support, with wellbeing resources, community-building activities, and one-to-one sessions 

What we are looking for 

Incredibly successful projects may help to accelerate research which strengthens global resilience and reduces likelihood of catastrophic pandemics. They may also contribute to building either/both technical and governance safeguards. 

Possible directions include: 

• Designing evaluation frameworks for biosecurity-sensitive AI models.
• Exploring governance mechanisms to manage dual-use bio-AI capabilities.
• Mapping the emerging bio-threat landscape driven by AI-enabled research tools.
• Designing interventions to reduce catastrophic risk from biotechnology that are aided by AI (e.g. early warning systems, contact tracing). 

Who are we looking for 

Anyone (18+) can apply to the fellowship; we are a talent-first programme. Potential fellows may have experience in policy, biology or life sciences, public health, or machine learning. 

Our fellows come from a range of backgrounds (professionally and globally) and are typically at a wide variety of career stages. We think that the AIxBio Fellowship is especially (though not exclusively!) valuable for:

• PhD students looking to align their research with AIxBiosecurity,
• Professionals from adjacent fields (technical or policy) seeking to transition into AIxBiosecurity,
• Early-career researchers looking to deepen their expertise in AI safety and/or biosecurity research, and
• Individuals with unique perspectives that can improve our understanding of the  AIxBiosecurity interface.

Questions? 

Please check out our Frequently Asked Questions section first. If you have questions about anything not covered in our FAQs, please email us at biosecurity@erafellowship.org .

Whether you're coming from an AI, biology or policy background, we hope you consider applying!