Bioscience

In the late 1990s, Sandia began to expand its work in biotechnology to enable it to have an even greater impact on protecting national security by participating in efforts to counter bioterrorism and biowarfare. While Sandia had pursued some biotech research for more than 10 years, no concerted effort existed prior to this time to use this technology in a systematic way.

Laboratory management created a Biotech Science & Technology Council to lead Sandia's efforts in this area and formed several new departments to focus on biotech research efforts. CRF researchers are participating in these research efforts, applying expertise, techniques, and equipment initially directed at probing combustion events to scientific problems ranging from studying protein interactions to improving microfluidic devices for detecting chemical and biological warfare agents. They are involved in the following biotechnology-related projects:

• Advanced optical microscopy - Research to develop novel imaging capabilities that are sensitive enough for the study of single biomolecules. Experiments at the biomolecule level can provide information on enzyme dynamics, protein folding, and protein-protein interactions in real time.
• Microfluidics for biodetection - A project with Johns Hopkins University and Stanford University that would help enable increased sensitivity of microfluidic instruments for chem/bio agent detection. This DARPA-funded project builds on earlier work with Johns Hopkins to better understand the effect of uncertainties in material properties and reaction rates on microfluidics biodetection device operation.
• Biosensor data interpretation - An effort to develop stochastic algorithms for use with microfluidic detection devices to improve the detection of specific bioagents. The project is part of Sandia's µChemLab^TM effort and is funded by the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security.
• Stochastic inverse problems - Research on the use of Bayesian inference techniques for a range of inverse problems, in particular, the reconstruction of gene regulatory networks from microarray data. This work is funded through Sandia's President Harry S. Truman Fellowship in National Security Science and Technology, a new program that provides the opportunity for recipients to pursue independent research of their choosing that supports Sandia's national security mission.