Research Projects
Six major research projects are centered around the MARCE. These include Anthrax, Emerging Viruses, Poxvirus, Tularemia, Low-Dose Enteric Pathogens, and Diagnostics.
Several of these research projects are poised to generate vaccines and monoclonal antibodies that can be ready for clinical trials within a few years. These include an S. Typhi-based PA anthrax vaccine, (S. Typhi-based live vector expressing a combination of Bacillus anthracis antigens, including Protective Antigen (PA)), a Francisella tularensis capsule-protein conjugate vaccine, a rationally attenuated F. tularensis vaccine strain, an attenuated S. dysenteriae 1 live vaccine strain, and humanized neutralizing monoclonal antibodies against a variety of Category A viruses and against Cryptosporidium.
Other investigators are working to develop practical diagnostic measures suitable for diagnosing the microbial etiology of infection in patients presenting to emergency rooms with febrile illnesses, pneumonia, sepsis and other clinical symptoms that can be caused by bioterror agents. Another project will investigate the effectiveness, logistical practicality and other advantages that may derive from administering anthrax vaccine by needle-free injection devices. A related downstream project will explore whether a powerful adjuvant administered transcutaneously can enhance the serologic response to parenteral anthrax PA and botulinum toxoid.
Emerging Viruses
Viruses pose a significant challenge in the development of effective therapeutics. The development of safe and efficacious vaccines for viral pathogens has been the mainstay of prevention and intervention strategies for combating viral disease in humans. The development, testing, and implementation of new viral vaccines is lengthy and expensive. Moreover, vaccine candidates for most Category A, B and C viral pathogens are lacking.
Poxvirus
Bioterrorism with variola virus concerns the biomedical community because (a) the world population is largely susceptible since routine vaccination was discontinued; (b) no treatment exists; (c) the virus is stabilize in aerosol form; (d) the virus is transmissible person-to-person; and (e) infection results in high morbidity and mortality.
Tularemia
Francisella tularensis (F. tularensis), the causative agent of tularemia in humans, is a Gram-negative coccobacillus that infects a wide variety of vertebrate and invertebrate hosts. While primarily a highly infectious bacterial zoonotic infection, humans may acquire the infection by being exposed to the natural cycle of F. tularensis, often by the handling or ingestion of infected animals or water. Initially, the symptoms of F. tularensis infection are nonspecific, making diagnosis difficult. The disease, tularemia, is usually localized (e.g. at the site of cutaneous penetration), but less frequently may present as a more disseminated infection (typhoidal or rarely, blood-borne).
Low-Dose Enteric Pathogens
Although the respiratory route is usually considered the most important route of transmission of bioterror agents, the largest bioterror attack in the United States actually occurred by the enteric route of transmission.
Diagnostics
The objective of the Diagnostics Research Group project is to develop new diagnostics and detection devices that would be instrumental in initiating an effective public health response to a bioterrorist or emerging infectious disease event. These projects work to accelerate development, clinical evaluation and deployment of genomic and proteomic based diagnostics.