Emory Vaccine Center partnered with the International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) in January of 2008 to create the Joint ICGEB-Emory Vaccine Center in New Delhi, India. The center will accommodate vaccine research for diseases including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, hepatitis C, dengue fever, and malaria. Funding to support scientific staff will be provided by Emory University with ICGEB providing space and infrastructure.
The National Hygiene and Epidemiology Institute opened the first Vietnamese BSL-3 laboratory meeting international standards in Hanoi in January of 2008. Construction began on the $8 million project in August of 2006 and reached completion in December of 2007. The facility was funded by the government of Japan and will accommodate research on diseases including avian influenza and SARS. The National Hygiene and Epidemiology Institute will work with the Japanese government to implement a $2 million project to train ten officials in the operation of the laboratory.
The United States Department of Homeland Security's Office of Procurement Operations will award approximately $24 million over several years to the Plum Island Animal Disease Center in Orient Point, N.Y. The project will improve research productivity and safety at the BSL-3 facility, which accommodates research on harmful zoological disease agents.
The Indian government has approved Rs.1 billion ($25.4 million) for the construction of a BSL-4 laboratory in Andhra Pradesh. The animal research facility will be sited on five acres three kilometers from the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad, the organization that will operate the laboratory for the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
After years of research, development and laboratory testing, SANYO has introduced the MCO-80IC Reach-In CO2 Incubator. It is both easy to use and designed specifically for critical applications in pharmaceutical, biotechnology and clinical investigation. Safe for even the most demanding of cell culture protocols, the SANYO MCO-80IC offers significant economic benefits by avoiding costly interruptions for decontamination, improving cell culture growth and expression under stable, repeatable conditions, and minimizing the potential for loss due to contamination.
Aurora, Colo.-based Merrick & Company received an engineering excellence award in December of 2007 from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Colorado. Merrick was recognized with a Building/Technology Systems Award for work on the BSL-3Ag Large Animal Health Facility project in Ames, Iowa. Merrick provided detailed architectural and engineering design services for one of the initial elements of the $460 million modernization of the USDA National Centers for Animal Health.
Needham, Ma.-based environmental engineering and consulting firm EH&E has authored a free white paper titled “Biosafety Review Key to Infection Control”. Aiming to help technicians and safety personnel to minimize risk of laboratory infection, the paper outlines strategies for compliance with NIH, CDC, OSHA, and BMBL guidelines.
Download the paper on EH&E website (registration required)
Colorado State University broke ground in December of 2007 on a $42 million veterinary science facility in Fort Collins. The 90,000-sf diagnostic medicine center will house specialty laboratories for zoonotic disease research. The facility is one of seven in the nation selected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to test for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease.
The University of Iowa opened its new research facility at the Hygienic Laboratory in Ankeny on December 4, 2007. Designed as a resource for bioterrorism prevention, the laboratory will provide rapid testing capabilities for infectious disease agents. The Ankeny facility is part of the nationwide Laboratory Response Network and will serve as the state of Iowa's environmental and public health laboratory.
The University of Wisconsin, Madison completed construction on the $12.5-million Institute for Influenza Viral Research in November of 2007. Designed by Flad Architects, the 28,000-sf facility houses BSL-3, BSL-3E, BSL-3Ag, and ABSL-3 laboratories with redundant air handling systems, autoclaves, a back-up generator, and an effluent decontamination system. Located at University Research Park in Madison, the Institute will support research on avian influenza and other flu viruses and will house rodents, ferrets, poultry, and monkeys.
The University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) was awarded $4 million in federal funds in November of 2007 to acquire equipment for its Regional Biocontainment Laboratory (RBL) in Memphis. As part of the Department of Defense's 2008 budget, the funding will provide sophisticated pathogen detection equipment for the study of emerging infectious diseases. Completion of the UTHSC RBL at the UT-Baptist Research Park is slated for summer of 2008.
Dalhousie University, in partnership with Capital Health and the IWK Health Centre, is planning to construct the $42 million Life Sciences Research Institute (LSRI) in Halifax. Designed by Halifax-based WHW Architects, the 115,000-sf, five-story LSRI will house post-incubator research projects and laboratory space for tenants, two floors of labs for the Brain Repair Centre, and a CL2/APL2 Integrated Animal Care Facility (IACF) for non-severe biological agent research on the fifth floor.
The U.S. Senate has awarded $25 million to the state of Hawaii for the construction of a regional biodefense laboratory. The site for the RBL is yet to be determined. The funding is part of $160 million allocated to the state for health and educational initiatives.
In October of 2007, the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, part of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, held a hearing on government oversight of select agent laboratories. Testimony given by Dr. Richard Besser, director of an agency at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, detailed needed improvements to the inspection, documentation, and verification processes at the laboratories.
Colorado State University celebrated the opening of its $30 million Regional Biocontainment Laboratory on October 2, 2007. Sited on the Foothills Campus in Fort Collins, the 38,000-sf aerosol challenge facility will house mice for infectious disease and potential bioterror agent research. The BSL-3 laboratory features a $600,000 mass spectrometer, autoclaves, seven-layer epoxy floors, and rigorous HEPA air filtration. The project was built by a joint venture of Heath Construction with Hensel Phelps Construction.
