Johns Hopkins scholar testifies before Maryland legislature on gene synthesis

A professor from Johns Hopkins Center for Health and Security testified before the Maryland General Assembly on the certification of gene synthesis providers and manufacturers of gene synthesis equipment.

Dr. Gigi Gronvall — senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and associate professor in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health — voiced her support for a bill in the Maryland legislature that would require certification for gene synthesis providers and manufacturers of gene synthesis equipment.

“This legislation, if enacted, requires not only that customers use companies that perform biosecurity screening but also that companies offering DNA synthesis services in Maryland perform sequence screening. These restrictions would make it harder for a potential nefarious actor to access genetic material for making pathogenic viruses from synthetic DNA, such as smallpox, Ebola, or influenza,” Gronvall said. “Both the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency and the periodic impacts of Ebola virus on West African nations highlight the potentially devastating effects on individual health and both social and economic well-being that can happen when pathogens like these afflict societies. This bill can help to make the field of synthetic DNA safer and ensure responsible manufacturing processes.”

The hearing was convened by the Maryland House of Delegates’ Health and Government Operations committee.