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Middle
Atlantic Regional Center of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging
Diseases
The
School
of Medicine has joined the Middle Atlantic Regional Center
of Excellence (RCE)for Biodefense and Emerging Diseases, a research
consortium unveiled recently by the National Institute of Allergy
and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
A
consortium of researchers from 16 biomedical research institutions
will carry out the NIAID's strategic
plan for biodefense research. Eight regional
centers of excellence, or RCEs, will be established nationwide
with grants totaling approximately
$350 million over five years, $42 million of
which will go to the Middle Atlantic RCE, to be led by
the University of Maryland School
of Medicine. Penn investigators will receive
an anticipated $6. 1 million over the course of this five-year
grant.
The
Middle Atlantic RCE will
pursue the development of vaccines against
anthrax
and small-pox, focus on emerging
infectious diseases such as West Nile
Virus, and study new approaches
to fighting viruses that
cause deadly hemorrhagic fever, including Ebola and
Marburg.
The consortium will also
examine other potential bioterror agents
and the
means to combat them. In
addition, members of the Middle Atlantic RCE will design
tests for faster detection
of hazardous agents and innovative
techniques to ensure
a rapid public health
response
to biological attacks and
outbreaks.
"In
1999, it was West Nile virus.
In 2003, it was SARS. In 2004, who knows?There are a multitude
of potentially dangerous
viruses,
bacteria and parasites that
infect animals and that could be transmitted to humans, "said
Dr. Robert W. Doms, professor and chair of the department
of microbiology,
and member of the five-person
Executive
Committee for the Middle
Atlantic RCE. "Emerging
infectious diseases
are a real problem that we
all need to be concerned
about. Penn scientists are already
leading research projects
on West Nile virus, Ebola
virus and smallpox, with the goal of developing
vaccines
and new therapeutics."
At
the heart of the Middle Atlantic RCE are a number
of
research projects. Of the 18 approved for funding,
five
are underway at Penn. In addition to his leadership role
for Penn, Dr.
Doms
is developing a vaccine for West Nile virus.
Dr. Stuart Isaacs, assistant professor
from
the division of infectious diseases, is developing neutralizing
antibodies that
will
help stem the potential
ill
effects of the vaccinia virus that is used to vaccinate
against smallpox. Dr.
John
Lambris, professor in the department
of pathology
and
laboratory medicine, is currently identifying antigens
targeted by anti- bodies
in
immunized humans in order to engineer
improved neutralizing antibodies.
Dr.
Graham
Simmons, a research associate
in the department of microbiology,
is studying
how the Ebola
virus gains entry into cells
and how to block it from
doing so. Dr. Gary
Cohen, professor
and chair
of microbiology at the School
of Dental Medicine, and
Dr. Roselyn Eisenberg,
professor
and head of a Laboratory
of Microbiology &Immunology
in the School of Veterinary
Medicine, are collaborating
on a vaccine to counter
the ill effects of vaccinia
virus
and confer additional
protection against smallpox.
In
addition to Penn and the University of Maryland, the
Middle Atlantic RCE includes
researchers from: Johns Hopkins University, the University
of Virginia, the Uniformed Services University
of Health Sciences, Virginia
Polytechnic Institute and State University, Georgetown
University, George Washington University, West Virginia
University,
Drexel University, the University of Vermont, the University
of Missouri,
Kansas City, the University of Maryland Biotechnology
Institute and Virginia Commonwealth
University, the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute, and
the University of Pittsburgh.
Almanac, Vol. 50, No. 4, September 16, 2003
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