The efforts of all involved
Rambhia’s work exemplifies MITRE’s role as a connector: he leads work with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and its Pharmaceutical Countermeasures and Infrastructure Division.
He is also the Group Leader for Healthcare Preparedness at MITRE Labs, supporting the work of the Global Health Security and Biotechnology teams. In this role, he values the opportunity to “help people grow, thrive, and do more of the things they love.”
Ranveer is leading a project team that is designing scenario-driven exercises to pressure test biopharmaceutical manufacturing capabilities, with the goal to build a program that addresses key shortcomings observed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The exercise will assess preparedness and response capabilities against a range of threats, ultimately testing the technical and other constraints on rapid response of multiple biomanufacturing platforms under specific circumstances (pandemic or biological attack).
He says MITRE brings multidisciplinary expertise, trusted partnerships, and an unbiased, data-driven focus to these timely efforts.
For example, a recent biomanufacturing capabilities assessment paired senior government and biopharmaceutical industry leaders with experts in manufacturing, policy, supply chain and regulatory issues.
The experts reviewed requirements for transferring production of live viral vaccines to U.S.-based contract development and manufacturing organizations in order to expand domestic manufacturing.
Working together during times of relative calm builds relationships between agencies, Lambeer says. “Knowing who you’re talking to and what motivates their decisions improves the overall emergency response. You don’t want to be exchanging contact details in the middle of a crisis.”
Public Service Initiatives
Lambeer has studied health security in depth as a policy analyst at the Center for Health Security in Baltimore.
“I’ve worked on problems like how to prepare hospitals for widespread emergencies and how to effectively distribute pandemic vaccines across the country,” said Lamveer, who holds a master’s degree in biotechnology from Johns Hopkins University and a doctorate in biomedical engineering from the University of Michigan.
He was attracted to MITRE’s public-good mission and the opportunity to “help shape the community discussion to address complex health problems.”
He also jumped at the chance to work with Monique K. Mansoura, PhD, an internationally recognized biotechnology and global health expert at MITRE.
Currently, he and Mansoura work with global health security leaders in the government, including at the Office of Strategic Preparedness and Response, the FDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Departments of Commerce and State, and the White House’s new Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy, as well as domestic and international leaders in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries and academia.
The nonpartisan Strategic Risk Council recently appointed Lambeer as a mid-career biodefense fellow. As part of his fellowship, he will work with experts in biological threat mitigation and biosecurity to foster international collaboration.
Outside of work, Ranveer and his wife are busy parents to a young child, and he credits MITRE’s three-month parental leave benefit for giving him the opportunity to “build a rapport with this little new human.”
