Dr Lalitha Sundaram

  • Senior Research Associate
  • Centre for the Study of Existential Risk
Dr Lalitha Sundaram

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Dr Lalitha SundaramSenior Research AssociateCentre for the Study of Existential RiskBiography

Lalitha’s research is in the area of bio-risk regulation and governance. She investigates risks – real or perceived – surrounding emerging biotechnologies. Before joining CSER, Lalitha worked within the University of Cambridge and Edinburgh’s Arsenic Biosensor Collaboration, focusing on Responsible Research and Innovation. She subsequently held a fellowship at King’s College London investigating emerging biotechnologies for global health challenges. Lalitha’s PhD research, also at Cambridge, explored metabolic and microRNA changes following infection by the pathogenic parasite Toxoplasma gondii. She currently holds a UKRI Policy Fellowship.

Research

My research focuses both on biological risks and on understandings and governance of catstrophic and existential risks more broadly. Projects include a study of the UK's Biological Security Strategy, and what lessons might be learned from Covid-19 for the management of Global Catastrophic Risks. I am also looking at the emerging (bio-)technical landscape and technology convergenve, most specifically with Artificial Intelligence.