Tessa Alexanian

Tessa Alexanian is the Technical Lead for the Common Mechanism, an open-source baseline for nucleic acid synthesis screening developed by the International Biosecurity and Biosafety Initiative for Science (IBBIS). Her previous work has focused on modular lab automation, assessing dual-use risks in synthetic biology projects, bioweapons convention compliance, and creating cultures of responsibility. Tessa wrangled robots to do bioengineering for four years at Zymergen, served for two years at the iGEM Competition’s Safety and Security officer, and has collaborated with organizations including Coefficient Giving and RAND. She was a 2023 CSR Ending Bioweapons Fellow, a 2022 ELBI fellow and 2020 Foresight Fellow.