Prof Wilmot James during a meeting in Mexico with the Helena Group on the intersections between synthetic biology and artificial intelligence. Wilmot has been at the forefront of the fight pandemics, catastrophes and biological warfare.
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Pandemic Center
Wilmot James, Ph.D.
Senior Adviser to the Brown Pandemic Center, Professor of the Practice of Health Services, Policy and Practice at the Brown University School of Public Health
Biography
Dr. James, an internationally recognized thought leader in biosecurity, global health, and pandemic preparedness, is a Senior Advisor to the Pandemic and a Professor of the Practice of Health Services, Policy and Practice.
Dr. James has served as a Member of Parliament and Shadow Minister of Health in South Africa, and most recently held positions at Columbia University as Senior Research Scholar at the Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy and as Chair of the Center for Pandemic Research in the College of Arts and Sciences. Wilmot serves as an advisor to Germany's Robert Koch Institute and the G7-led Global Partnership's Signature Initiative to Mitigate Biological Threats in Africa; serves on the Science Advisory Council of the Fund For Science and Technology; chairs the Climate-Health Impacts Awards Advisory Committee of the Wellcome Trust; and serves on the advisory boards of Resolve to Save Lives and the Mirror Biology Dialogue Fund. Dr. James will use his extensive experience to address public health and national security challenges in his role as senior advisor to the Pandemic Center.
Recent News
Africa is home to the youngest population on Earth. By 2060, nearly 800 million children will live on the continent – an extraordinary demographic force that should be our greatest asset. But a landmark new study published this month in PLOS Global Public Health delivers a stark reality check: the children’s hospitals responsible for caring for this generation are stretched, strained and in many places simply not equipped to meet their needs.
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Leveraging Data for High-Impact Health Security Investment 1
The COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant slowdown in economic growth across Africa and triggered widespread debt distress, leaving many countries struggling to recover. Growth is expected to remain sluggish for several years, contributing to significant reductions in health spending. Official development assistance (ODA) has dropped 70 percent since 2021, even as disease outbreaks have surged by more than 40 percent between 2022 and 2024. These trends place overwhelming strain on health systems across the continent.
The combination of economic slowdown and reductions in ODA is unfolding in a time of increasing biological threats. Climate change disproportionately impacts African countries, driving a surge in infectious disease outbreaks across the continent. At the same time, rapid technological advances are lowering barriers to the misuse of biology. Yet many countries in the region lack the necessary data and core capacities to keep their populations and economies safe from emerging health crises.
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The COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant slowdown in economic growth across Africa and triggered widespread debt distress, leaving many countries struggling to recover. Growth is expected to remain sluggish for several years, contributing to significant reductions in health spending. Official development assistance (ODA) has dropped 70 percent since 2021, even as disease outbreaks have surged by more than 40 percent between 2022 and 2024. These trends place overwhelming strain on health systems across the continent.
The combination of economic slowdown and reductions in ODA is unfolding in a time of increasing biological threats. Climate change disproportionately impacts African countries, driving a surge in infectious disease outbreaks across the continent. At the same time, rapid technological advances are lowering barriers to the misuse of biology. Yet many countries in the region lack the necessary data and core capacities to keep their populations and economies safe from emerging health crises.
AI experts, Nobel Laureates, Fortune 500 CEOs, NGO leaders and leading academic gathered in Mexico to discuss how to intervene in a system to keep superintelligence safe without sacrificing the core values of a free and open society.
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David Baltimore explained to Mr Mandela, in a language so precise as only he could, that there was no vaccine for Aids and that an aggressive rollout of antiretrovirals, tough management of needlestick use and a high visibility public campaign for safe sex were key.
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News from SPH
Building a Bench of Biosecurity Leaders
The Pandemic Center celebrated its inaugural cohort of Biosecurity Game Changers with a completion ceremony highlighting the far-reaching impact of the fellows’ work.
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