Resources

Resources for the Development of Medical Countermeasures

Microbiology

• Biodefense and Emerging Infections Research Resources Repository (BEI Resources) - American Type Culture Collection
  This centralized repository acquires, authenticates, stores, and distributes NIAID Category A, B, and C agents to the scientific community for use in research and product development. It also produces and dispenses reagents, such as DNA clones, body fluids and cells, synthetic peptides, and monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies. The repository offers an alternative for universities and other institutions that no longer want to store or distribute select agents. New repository acquisitions will be catalogued, tested for quality, and made available to investigators who meet federal guidelines for select agent use.
• Regional Centers of Excellence (RCEs) for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Disease Research
  The primary objective of the Centers program is to support the NIAID Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases Research Agenda. The Centers will build and maintain a strong infrastructure supporting multifaceted research and development activities that promote scientific discovery and translational research capacity required to create the next generation of therapeutics, vaccines, and diagnostics for the NIAID Category A-C agents.

Immunology and Testing

• The Filovirus Animal Nonclinical Group (FANG)
• Immune Epitope Database and Analysis Program
  This site presents information that facilitates the dissemination of immune epitope information, the generation of new research tools, diagnostic techniques, vaccines and therapeutics for emerging and re-emerging diseases. The IEDB contains data related to antibody and T cell epitopes for humans, non-human primates, rodents, and other animal species.
• NIH/NIAID Tetramer Facility
  The NIH/NIAID Tetramer Facility, located at Atlanta's Emory University, provides tetramers to researchers from around the world allowing them to conduct experiments that otherwise would be difficult or impossible to complete. These tetramers offer vast improvements over previous procedures for screening T cell responses, but not all laboratories possess the resources required to synthesize and assemble the molecules.
• Systems Approach to Innate Immunity, Inflammation, and Sepsis - The Scripps Research Institute
  The primary objective of the program is to develop an encyclopedia of innate immune system activity. This large-scale collaborative project grant brings together investigators with many different scientific backgrounds and talents to use a "systems biology" approach to better understand how the innate immune system responds to bacteria and viruses, as well as its role in orchestrating adaptive immunity.
• In Vitro and Animal Models for Emerging Infectious Diseases and Biodefense
  The primary objective of these models is to provide targeted screening of potential therapeutic and prevention modalities for emerging infectious agents and bioterrorism pathogens using in vitro, small animal, and nonhuman primate models to test safety and efficacy. In vitro and animal models are needed to ensure development and testing of vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics; pre-clinical safety testing will be required to speed the development of new generation products.
• In Vitro Antiviral Screening Program
  The main objective of this program is to facilitate the identification of antiviral agents with the potential for treating viral infections of public health importance, including those for newly emerging infections, and those that are not a high priority for the pharmaceutical industry.
• Extramural Construction of Biosafety Laboratories
  NIAID has provided funding for the construction of National Biocontainment Laboratories (NBLs) and Regional Biocontainment Laboratories at research institutions across the country. The NBLs will serve as a national and regional resource for research on biodefense and emerging infectious disease agents that require BSL-4/3/2 biocontainment, while the RBLs will serve as a regional resource for research requiring BSL-3/2 biocontainment. The NBLs and RBLs will complement and support the research activities of NIAID's Regional Centers of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases Research. The biosafety labs also will be available and prepared to assist national, state and local public health efforts in the event of a bioterrorism or infectious disease emergency.

Genomics

• Microbial Sequencing Centers
  NIAID's Microbial Genome Sequencing Centers provide state-of-the-art high throughput DNA sequencing of microbial genomes.
• Pathogen Functional Genomics Resource Center
  This centralized facility provides scientists with resources and reagents for conducting functional genomics research on human pathogens and invertebrate vectors of infectious diseases.