W. Seth Carus, PhD

Dr. Carus is a Distinguished Research Fellow at the Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction at the National Defense University. His research focuses on issues related to biological warfare, including threat assessment, biodefense, and the role of the Department of Defense in biodefense. He also studies the history of biological warfare, and has written a working paper, Bioterrorism and Biocrimes: The Illicit Use of Biological Agents in the 20th Century, and several articles on allegations of biological agent use. He has been at NDU since 1997. From 2003 to 2013 he also served as the WMD Center’s Deputy Director.

From 2001 to 2003, Dr. Carus was detailed to the Office of the Vice President, where he was the Senior Advisor to the Vice President for Biodefense. Before assuming that position, he was on the staff of the National Preparedness Review commissioned to recommend changes in homeland security organization and supported the Office of Homeland Security while it was being established.

Prior to joining NDU, Dr. Carus was a research analyst at the Center for Naval Analyses. He worked on studies related to naval forward presence in the Persian Gulf and on the impact of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons on the conduct of a major regional contingency in Korea. From 1991 to 1994, Dr. Carus was a member of the Policy Planning staff in the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, Office of the Secretary of Defense. Before joining the government, he was a research fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Dr. Carus has a Ph.D. from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.