Key U.S. Initiatives for Addressing Biological Threats

The document examines DARPA's contribution to U.S. national security through high-risk, high-reward research, specifically highlighting its role in enabling COVID-19 vaccine development via earlier mRNA investments. It identifies internal risks—such as leadership gaps in biological expertise and high personnel turnover—and proposes structural reforms. Key recommendations include lengthening Program Manager terms, creating a discretionary 'seedling' budget for innovative ideas, expanding the search for international performers, and renaming the Biological Technologies Office to the Biological Sciences Office to broaden its scope. The authors argue that DARPA must better align its aggressive timelines with the inherent constraints of biological research and improve transitions to commercial or military partners to avoid the 'Valley of Death'.

• DARPA's long-term investment in messenger RNA (mRNA) platforms through the ADEPT:PROTECT program in 2012 was a critical precursor to the success of Operation Warp Speed and the rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines.
• The Council on Strategic Risks identified four primary organizational risks hindering DARPA's success: a lack of biological expertise in the Director's Office, increasing risk aversion, inconsistent technical goal-setting during disruptions, and unstable prioritization of biological threats.
• The current short tenure of Program Managers (typically 2-6 years) and aggressive program timelines (3-5 years) create instability and 'harmful churn', often preventing managers from seeing their projects through to completion.
• DARPA's funding model for Technical Offices is described as a 'zero-sum' wedge model that creates competition for limited resources; the authors recommend a meritocracy-based model that incentivizes the highest-impact ideas.
• There is a fundamental tension between DARPA's rapid development timelines and the inherent constraints of biological research, such as safety requirements, animal welfare, and regulatory approval processes.
• To avoid the 'Valley of Death' in technology transition, DARPA should engage partners from the U.S. Department of Commerce and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services earlier in the development process and utilize liaison officers (LNOs).
• The authors suggest renaming the Biological Technologies Office (BTO) to the Biological Sciences Office to signal that DARPA's role extends beyond tool development to acting as a biological systems analyst and influencer.

APA

Chitale, R. A., Lim, Y.-B., & Parr, L. (2021). Key U.S. Initiatives for Addressing Biological Threats. The Council on Strategic Risks. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Key-U.S.-Initiatives-for-Addressing-Biological-Threats-Part-6_DARPA_BRIEFER-27_2021_11_10.pdf

Chicago

Chitale, Rohit A., Yong-Bee Lim, and Lillian Parr. Key U.S. Initiatives for Addressing Biological Threats. The Council on Strategic Risks, 2021. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Key-U.S.-Initiatives-for-Addressing-Biological-Threats-Part-6_DARPA_BRIEFER-27_2021_11_10.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Chitale |first1=Rohit A. |last2=Lim |first2=Yong-Bee |last3=Parr |first3=Lillian |title=Key U.S. Initiatives for Addressing Biological Threats |publisher=The Council on Strategic Risks |date=10 November 2021 |url=https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Key-U.S.-Initiatives-for-Addressing-Biological-Threats-Part-6_DARPA_BRIEFER-27_2021_11_10.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{chitale2021key, author = {Chitale, Rohit A. and Lim, Yong-Bee and Parr, Lillian}, title = {{Key U.S. Initiatives for Addressing Biological Threats}}, institution = {The Council on Strategic Risks}, year = {2021}, month = nov, url = {https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Key-U.S.-Initiatives-for-Addressing-Biological-Threats-Part-6_DARPA_BRIEFER-27_2021_11_10.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }