Billions of dollars will be spent on understanding the pathogens that can be employed as biological weapons and on developing new diagnostics and therapeutics to respond to future attacks
Tamara Zemlo, executive director of the Science Advisory Board, will be presenting a review of biodefence research opportunities at the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Biodefense Meeting.
The presentation, Biodefense Research: Turning Obstacles into Opportunities, can be viewed at the Monday poster session on 21 March 2005 from 8:30am-7:00pm, and Dr Zemlo will be available to answer any questions from 5:00-7:30pm.
The meeting takes place at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront in Baltimore, USA.
In the coming years, billions of dollars will be spent on understanding the pathogens that can be employed as biological weapons and on developing new diagnostics and therapeutics to respond to future attacks.
Early detection and identification of these pathogens are critical to limiting the potentially catastrophic human and economic consequences of a bioterrorist attack.
In order to provide guidance on how this investment can best be managed, BioInformatics conducted a survey of more 500 members of the Science Advisory Board - scientists representing academic, government and industrial labs - to identify key tools and techniques employed in biodefence research.
Findings will be presented that outline the technical obstacles these researchers face and the technological developments they need to advance their work.
Researchers require access to large amounts of genomic and related data to facilitate the identification of potential targets for the development of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics.
Hence, there is an urgent need for databases and bioinformatics tools that will enable researchers to conduct comparative analysis of genomes and allow for the identification of genetic polymorphisms, ie, DNA-based signatures, which correlate with phenotypes such as pathogenicity, drug resistance, morbidity and infectivity.
Products to support proteomics approaches will also be required as protein signatures represent the other major approach to pathogen detection.
Products that support the separation, identification and characterisation of the proteins present in tissue or other biological samples will assist researchers in developing faster and more effective detection assays and devices that are a top government priority.
"Encouragingly for scientists hoping to enter the biodefence arena, this study reveals that researchers are using the products of their existing life science suppliers," asserts Zemlo.
"And when necessary, researchers can easily adapt these products to fit new biodefense applications".
A large majority of biodefence researchers state that they find it very easy to adapt life science products not specifically designed for biodefence applications for use in their biodefence research.
