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2007 Progress Report: The Center for Advancing Microbial Risk Assessment (CAMRA)
EPA Grant Number: R832362Center: Center for Advancing Microbial Risk Assessment
Center Director: Rose, Joan B.
Title: The Center for Advancing Microbial Risk Assessment (CAMRA)
Investigators: Rose, Joan B. , Atwood, Michael , Bolin, Carole , Casman, Elizabeth , Choi, Christopher Yeonsik , Downs, Julie , Gerba, Charles P. , Gurian, Patrick , Han, Hyoi , Hashsham, Syed , Keim, Paul , Koopman, James , Nazaroff, William , Nicas, Mark , Pepper, Ian L. , S. Eisenberg, Joseph N. , Small, Mitchell J. , Todd, Ewen , Weber, Rosina
Institution: Michigan State University , Carnegie Mellon University , Drexel University , Northern Arizona University , University of Arizona , University of California - Berkeley , University of Michigan
EPA Project Officer: Baumel, Irwin
Project Period: September 1, 2005 through August 31, 2010
Project Period Covered by this Report: September 1, 2006 through August 31, 2007
Project Amount: $10,000,000
RFA: DHS-EPA Cooperative Center of Excellence on the Methods and Science to Conduct Microbial Risk Assessment in Support of Homeland Security Objectives (2004)
Research Category: Drinking Water , Health Effects
Description:
Objective:CAMRA has two main goals. The first is a technical mission to have developed critically reviewed and interpreted sets of models, tools and information that will be used in a credible risk assessment framework to reduce or eliminate health impacts from deliberate use of biological agents of concern (BAC) as bioterrorists agents in the indoor and outdoor environment. The second mission is to build a national network for quantitative microbiological risk assessment (QMRA) for knowledge management, learning and transfer, for the community of scientists, and students via educational programs and community of professionals in the field and in our communities. There are five major research projects which will define the goals and activities of CAMRA. Each project goal has been developed through collaborative efforts of scientists and will be integrated via a management structure that facilitates interaction. They address exposure, methods and models; dose-response; population outcomes; risk frameworks; knowledge management, transfer and learning.
Progress Summary:The Center for Advancing Microbial Risk Assessment (CAMRA) was established on September, 2005. All subawards and contracts were finalized for Drexel University, University of Arizona, Northern Arizona University, University of Michigan, Carnegie Mellon University, University of California, Berkeley in February 2006. Official work for all contracts and requirements were completed between April to June 2006. The primary accomplishments in Project I include 1) normalization of decay rates of selected category A agents based on literature reviews, 2) evaluation of virus recovery methods (swab, wipe, and vortexing) from fomites, 3) compiling of instrumental and environmental (water, air, and soil) detection limits for Bacillus anthracis, 4) Genotoxicity assessment of quantum dots using Comet assay, 5) selection of the potential surrogates for experimental validation as the best surrogate for B. anthracis, 6) identification of the best methods for preparing spores for use in the fate and transport experiments, 7) examination of water distribution system. i) new dispersion coefficients for viruses, ii) perfect mixing assumption in water quality models dispersion patterns, iii) pattern recognition and axial dispersion artificial neural network, & complex network modeling prediction using water quality models and artificial neural network, and 8) development of Markov chain model for transport and fate of gas-phase contaminants.
The primary accomplishments in Project II include 1) development of transmission models with explicit description of environmental contamination, 2) development of dynamic dose-response models to be integrated into transmission models, 3) evaluation of statistical models for analyzing efficacy of intervention trials, 4) collection of environmental contamination data during Influenza season to inform environmental transmission models.
The primary accomplishments Project IV include 1) evaluation of neighborhood-level disinfection as a strategy to provide drinking water after the contamination of a water distribution system 2) fit of a Bayesian hierarchical dose-response model, 3) development of a mass-balance compartment model to predict fomite surface concentrations and risk after a release of B. anthracis, 4) design of mental models, 5) creation of an influence diagram for influenza transmission, and 6) development of an interview protocol.
The primary accomplishments in the Project V include update and of CAMRA Knowledge Repository (KR) version 1.7 by 1) revising learning units, 2) revising review process, 3) assessing similarity (verbs, algorithm for taxonomy, testing trigram), and 4) building taxonomy. KR version 2.0 is currently under development based on these accomplishments.
CAMRA organized three quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) workshops. 1-day QMRA workshops were held at American Society for Microbiology (ASM) General Meeting in Toronto, Canada on May 21, 2007 and International Water Association (IWA) Health Related Water Microbiology (HRWM) Symposium in Tokyo, Japan on September 9, 2007. The 2nd QMRA Summer Institute was held at Michigan State University (MSU), East Lansing, MI from August 19 to 23, 2007. The summer institute received 3.4 continuous education units (CEUs) from MSU.
Future Activities:Future activities will include an all PI meeting in April, 2008 in Washington DC followed by an EPA/CAMRA conference. A one-day QMRA workshop will be held in Boston on May 31 or June 1, 2008, which has been requested by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) and a pre-statistics and computer exercise course will be held on August 9 and 10, 2008 at Michigan State University followed by 3rd QMRA Summer Institute from August 11 to 15, 2008.
Journal Articles: 3 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
| Other center views: | All 44 publications | 4 publications in selected types | All 3 journal articles |
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Boone SA, Gerba CP. Significance of fomites in the spread of respiratory and enteric viral disease. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 2007;73(6):1687-1696. |
R832362 (2007) |
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Sinclair R, Boone SA, Greenberg D, Keim P, Gerba CP. Persistence of category A select agents in the environment. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 2008;74(3):555-563. |
R832362 (2007) |
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Weber RO. Addressing failure factors in knowledge management. Electronic Journal of Knowledge Management 2007;5(3):333-346. |
R832362 (2007) |
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Water, INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION, Scientific Discipline, RFA, Drinking Water, Ecological Risk Assessment, Environmental Monitoring, drinking water contaminants, water quality, bioterrorism, drinking water distribution system, analytical methods, environmental awareness, biological agents of concern, biopollution, air pollution, pathogens, microbial risk management, microbial risk assessment, homeland security, drinking water monitoring
Relevant Websites:
Progress and Final Reports:
Original Abstract