Rosetta Commons welcomes inaugural Biosecurity Fellow, Samuel Curtis

As a community, we aim to maximize the benefits and minimize the potential for harm of tools used for biomolecular design. We recognize that doing so will require a clear theoretical understanding of the benefit-risk profiles of our tools, and of how their development fits in the landscape of technological advancements and policy development.

To this end, Rosetta Commons has welcomed Samuel Curtis as our inaugural Rosetta Commons Biosecurity Fellow. In this capacity, Sam will conduct research on these topics within the Rosetta Commons community and coordinate convenings between protein design community members and biosecurity policy experts to support better-informed policy decision-making.

Sam earned a BA in Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Molecular Biology from Whitman College and an MSc in Global Affairs with Outstanding Distinction from Tsinghua University through the Schwarzman Scholars program. Prior to joining Rosetta Commons, Sam worked in AI policy for four years at a nonprofit, The Future Society, where he published reports on AI used in pandemic response with the Global Partnership on AI, conducted research on the European Union AI Act, and investigated methods to evaluate AI models for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) risks. Sam has been engaged with the Rosetta Commons community for the past year, having hosted a biosecurity workshop and given presentations at several RosettaCons. He was also a member of the task force that drafted the Community Values, Guiding Principles, and Commitments for the Responsible Development of AI for Protein Design.

Over the next year, Sam will visit various Rosetta Commons labs to lead discussions on our community statement, listen to and collect scientists’ perspectives on the responsible use of AI in biomolecular design, and work on biosecurity-related projects. If you or your lab would be interested in participating in these discussions, please reach out to Sam at samuel.curtis@rosettacommons.org.

This fellowship is fiscally sponsored by the Open Molecular Software Foundation and made possible with funding from the Rosetta Commons licensing fund, Sentinel Bio (a philanthropic fund incubated by Ergo Impact), and Open Philanthropy.


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