Transcript New England Regional Center of Excellence for Biodefense

New England Regional Center
of Excellence for Biodefense
and Emerging Infectious
Diseases Research
New England
Regional Center of Excellence
• Institutions currently with active research
projects:
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Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Boston University Medical Center
Brigham and Woman’s Hospital
Center for Blood Research
Dartmouth Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Tufts University
University of Massachusetts – Dartmouth
University of Massachusetts Medical School
NERCE Components
• 10 Research Programs
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Mechanisms of toxin transport
Vectored vaccines for anthrax, West Nile virus and dengue virus
Tularemia vaccine
Structural analysis of dengue virus envelope protein
Role of innate immunity following infection by hemorrhagic fever
viruses
• 9 Core Laboratories / Programs
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Small Molecule Screening
Proteomics
Clinical Studies
Confocal Microscopy
BSL-3 Biocontainment Laboratory
-- Medicinal Chemistry
-- BioMolecule Production
-- NMR
-- RNAi
NERCE Components
• Developmental Projects Program
– 9 Projects funded
• Career Development Program
– 6 Fellows supported
• Collaborative Pilot Projects
– 4 Projects funded
• Emergency Response Plan
– Support local first responders in the event of a
biological emergency
– LRN Category B Laboratory
Proteomics
Core Laboratory
• Comprehensive library of ORF clones
• Y. pestis
– 4195 clones
– Distributed by TIGR
• F. tularensis
– 1804 clones
– ~300 recombinant proteins
– Identification of candidate vaccine
antigens
• B. anthracis, V. cholerae, and
poxvirus libraries being prepared
National Screening Laboratory for the
Research Centers of Excellence
• High throughput screening of
chemical libraries
• >200,000 compounds
• Investigator initiated and
conducted
• Probes of biological function
• Hits may develop into
pharmaceutical leads
• Medicinal chemistry
• Currently supporting 35 different
screens, 20 from outside New
England
NERCE Projects and Cores
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Sep-04
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Sep-05
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Sep-03
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Research
Projects
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Cores /
Resources
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PIs
Institutions
Investigators and Institutions
Supported
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Sep-03
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Sep-05
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Investigators
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Institutions
Measurable Output
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Publications
Patent Disclosures
Summary
• RCEs have proven to be an effective organizational
mechanism for rapidly increasing basic and early stage
product focused research for biodefense pathogens and
helping to create significant intellectual critical mass
• RCEs facing significant challenges in the near future.
– Maintaining momentum
– Developing a national agenda
– Translating basic research and product concepts into
early stage product development
New England Regional Center
of Excellence for Biodefense
and Emerging Infectious
Diseases Research