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In late March, Sonia Ben Ouagrham-Gormley, deputy director of the Biodefense Graduate Program at George Mason University's Schar School of Policy and Government, was among the featured speakers at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) meeting commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC).
Held in Washington, D.C., the event brought together leading experts and policymakers to reflect on the achievements, ongoing challenges, and future direction of the landmark treaty that prohibits the development and use of biological weapons.
Ben Ouagrham-Gormley, who specializes in weapons programs, arms control, and ethics, joined a distinguished panel along with U.S. Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins, former under secretary of state for arms control and international security for the Biden administration, and Richard Stone, former international news editor for Science magazine.
During her remarks, Ben Ouagrham-Gormley emphasized the enduring relevance of the BWC, calling it “strong and worth celebrating” despite its well-documented limitations. She underscored the treaty’s importance as a global norm against biological weapons, while acknowledging gaps in verification and enforcement mechanisms.
A key theme of her presentation focused on the “lack of identifiable signatures in biological weapons activity,” which she argued complicates traditional verification strategies. As a result, she proposed that “future efforts should prioritize the disruption of suspected biological weapons programs” rather than solely attempting to detect and prevent them.
Her comments sparked significant engagement from the audience during a lively discussion that followed the panel.
Ben Ouagrham-Gormley also stressed the need for “more nuanced assessments of emerging technologies” and their potential use in the bioweapons lifecycle. As advancements in biotechnology accelerate, she said, more refined tools and frameworks will be necessary to evaluate evolving threats.
The session marked a meaningful reflection on five decades of international cooperation under the BWC and explored critical updates needed to ensure the treaty remains effective in the face of new scientific and geopolitical realities.
The Schar School’s biodefense master’s program is part of the No. 4-ranked Homeland Security program in the country, according to U.S. News & World Report. Students gain the analytical skills and knowledge needed to assess national and international security risks posed by natural and man-made biological threats with the Master of Biodefense. Understanding biological threats is more important in today’s world than ever before. To learn more about the program, see this page.