ATCC, the world’s premier private, non-profit biological resources and standards organization, hosted an event today, Empowering the Future of Biotechnology Through Trusted Science, with the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB) at its headquarters in Manassas, Virginia as part of the NSCEB’s “Biotech Across America” roadshow. The NSCEB met with ATCC leaders and key stakeholders from inside and outside the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia (DMV) Capital Region for a timely conversation on the future of biotechnology and biosecurity in the U.S. The event focused on the critical role of infrastructure, workforce, and authenticated data and biomaterials in enabling and securing U.S. competitiveness in biotechnology.
“This event was an opportunity to showcase ATCC’s alignment and 100-year support of gold standard science, and hear directly from the NSCEB and other organizations in our region that are shaping the future of U.S. biotechnology policy and national security,” said ATCC President and CEO Ruth Cheng, PhD. “ATCC is known around the world as a trustworthy source of biomaterials and data because of its rigorous quality processes, reliability, and expertise, and as an essential partner in the bioeconomy. Today’s event was key because we convened top leaders and decision makers from the Capital Region to share their commitment and bold ideas for advancing biotechnology innovation in this country.”
The event featured a conversation with NSCEB Executive Director Caitlin Frazer and NSCEB Commissioner Dawn Meyerriecks, who explored the progress made since the NSCEB’s report to Congress, Charting the Future of Biotechnology, was released in April 2025, as well as the important role authenticated biological data will play in implementing the report’s recommendations.
Key industry leaders shared insights during a panel discussion titled “Biotech’s Backbone: The Role of Authenticated Inputs in a Secure and Resilient Bioeconomy,” which was moderated by Founder of Blu Zone Bioscience & Supply Chain Solutions and Colonel (Ret), U.S. Army, Victor Suarez. The panelists (listed below) discussed how infrastructure, workforce, and trusted data and biomaterials are enabling artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and scalable biomanufacturing.
- Dawn Meyerriecks, NSCEB Commissioner
- Patrick Boyle, PhD, Interim Chief Scientific Officer, ATCC
- Eric Edwards, MD, PhD, CEO, Phlow Corporation
- Andrew Magyar, PhD, Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Capra Biosciences
- Nili Ostrov, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, Cultivarium
Juan Pablo Segura, Secretary of Commerce and Trade for the Commonwealth of Virginia, shared remarks highlighting the importance of collaboration between government, industry, academia, and organizations like ATCC to nurture innovation, workforce development, and policy alignment.
Rounding out this event was a conversation between Virginia Bio CEO John Newby, JD, and Executive Vice President of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), Phyllis Arthur, MBA, who covered how national and regional organizations are shaping the biotech landscape, supporting innovation, and building bridges between policy, industry, and research.
Event partners included:
- BioBuzz
- BioHealth Innovation
- Capra Biosciences
- George Mason University Institute for Biohealth Innovation
- G2G Consulting
- Prince William Economic Development
- Virginia Bio
The NSCEB Biotech Across America tour highlights the U.S. companies, academic institutions, industry alliances, workforce development programs, and policy initiatives that are driving the future of the rapidly growing biotechnology industry. Through this roadshow, Commissioners intend to continue learning about the work being done across the vibrant biotech ecosystem while engaging in the key findings and recommendations from their recent report. Hundreds of global experts and government officials provided input and practical recommendations in the report on how to advance U.S. biotechnology progress and slow that of its adversaries. These include:
- Prioritize biotechnology at the national level
- Mobilize the private sector to get U.S. products to scale
- Maximize the benefits of biotechnology and defense
- Out-innovate strategic U.S. competitors
- Build the biotechnology workforce of the future
- Mobilize the collective strengths of our allies and partners
“ATCC is already working to advance the recommendations outlined in the report through sustained commitments and strategic partnerships with the scientific community, enabling and catalyzing the innovations needed to drive U.S. biotechnology forward,” said ATCC Federal Solutions Senior Vice President Rebecca Bradford, MBA, MS, PMP. “ATCC has served as a trusted partner to Federal agencies for more than 60 years, providing authenticated biological materials that uphold national biosafety and biosecurity standards.”
ATCC’s new biomanufacturing facility, which will open in 2026, will serve as a cornerstone for the Federal government’s pandemic preparedness strategy, maximizing the benefits of biotechnology for defense and creating 75 new life sciences jobs in the area. Additionally, ATCC’s efforts are creating a solid foundation that can bolster and accelerate the creation of a Web of Biological Data (WOBD), as recommended by the NSCEB. The ATCC Genome Portal is a rapidly growing secure database providing whole-genome sequences from authenticated microbial strains in the ATCC collection, offering high-quality, annotated data to confidently perform bioinformatics analyses and make insightful correlations. ATCC’s collaboration with The Align Foundation will develop the world’s largest open-access microbial phenotyping dataset to accelerate AI research and empower the scientific community.
“We are a global biological resource center that has supported life science research for more than a century,” added Rebecca Bradford. “We will continue to do so in the future by expanding our role as a trusted steward of authenticated biomaterials to support national biosafety standards, as well as enabling AI-driven biological discovery by digitizing and structuring our vast biological data repositories.”
“I want to thank ATCC for hosting this valuable conversation and highlighting the importance of elevating our world-leading biotech industry’s knowledge and capabilities,” said NSCEB Commissioner Dawn Meyerriecks. “As the Commission’s work continues, we will build on our legislative progress so far with the help of dedicated organizations like ATCC to support U.S. economic resilience and our global competitiveness.”
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