WASHINGTON, DC – February 4, 2026 – The Atlantic Council announced today that Dr. Raj Panjabi will serve as the newest commissioner of the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense within the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security. Formerly an ex officio member of the Commission, Panjabi brings a distinguished record of leadership in global health security, health care, public health, and biotechnology.
“The Commission plays a pivotal role in addressing national and transnational biodefense. Dr. Panjabi’s expertise has helped tremendously in executing our mission and expanding our work. I am thrilled to welcome him to the dais in his new capacity as a commissioner,” said Governor Tom Ridge, the Commission’s co-chair and first US Secretary of Homeland Security.
“I am proud to contribute to the Commission’s ongoing efforts to strengthen US biodefense and prevent future biological incidents,” said Panjabi. “The Commission has done a great deal – I can tell you from personal experience that I found their work to be incredibly helpful when I was at the White House. I look forward to serving in this new capacity and helping the Commission extend its reach internationally.”
Panjabi is a senior partner at Flagship Pioneering, where he leads the firm’s Preemptive Health and Medicine Initiative. Additionally, he is a faculty member at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Panjabi previously served in the Biden-Harris White House as senior director for global health security and biodefense and as special assistant to the president. Panjabi helped shape President Biden’s COVID‑19 and global health security strategies in partnership with the G7, G20, and regional organizations. Before taking up his post at the National Security Council, Panjabi served as the US malaria coordinator.
“Raj is one of our next generation leaders,” said Donna Shalala, the Commission’s co-chair and former US Secretary of Health and Human Services. “We’re excited to work with him in the defense against biological threats.
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About the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense at the Atlantic Council
The Commission is a privately funded organization founded in 2014 to evaluate US biodefense and propose actionable recommendations for improvement. The Commission works to advance the adoption of its recommendations at the highest levels of government through public meetings, reports, and research initiatives designed to get at emerging and reemerging biological threats. It remains the only bipartisan body of former senior policymakers dedicated to this mission.
About the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security
The Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security works to develop sustainable, nonpartisan strategies to address the most important security challenges facing the United States and the world. The Scowcroft Center honors the legacy of service of General Brent Scowcroft. The Center embodies his ethos of nonpartisan commitment to the cause of security, support for US leadership in cooperation with allies and partners, and dedication to the mentorship of the next generation of leaders.
