Document text
Principal Investigator: David Alland
Organization: RUTGERS BIOMEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES
Fiscal Year: 2024
Award: $4,189,403
Funding agency: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Overall ABSTRACT
The Rutgers University Regional Biocontainment Laboratory (RBL) serves as a central facility to perform
biosafety level three (BSL3) therapeutic, pathogenesis, and diagnostic research on high threat biological agents
with a focus on Mycobacterium tuberculosis and SARS-CoV-2, as well as other category A, B, and C pathogens.
The RBL serves academic and commercial entities within Rutgers University, the Northeast United States and
nationally, while also engaging globally with companies and academic institutions through collaborations and
research contracts. This proposal will provide support that enhances the RBL’s ability to fulfill its research and
biothreat response/pandemic preparedness missions while also supporting an expanding faculty/staff. We
propose to accomplish these goals by improving the RBL facilities, support services, BSL3 practice development
and implementation and special services offerings though the execution of three aims: Aim 1. Establish a Facility
management, maintenance and operations (FMMO) core. Aim 2. Establish a BSL-3 Practices core (Practice
core). Aim 3. Establish a biocontainment research support service core devoted to developing animal models of
BSL3 pathogens and associated support services (Animal models and related services, or AMRS core). The
FMMO core will provide BSL3 and ABSL3 services, management and oversight, for routine animal husbandry,
microbiology and virology services in support of investigators grant funded research projects while ensuring
efficient operations and maintenance of the BSL3 facilities and providing trained staff to support the BSL3
building systems and equipment. The Practice core will develop and maintain standard operating procedures
and training for research in the RBL BSL3 laboratories including best practices, emergency response, waste
management, shipping, husbandry, select agent-specific practices and inventory. It will also develop and conduct
biosecurity and disaster drills and liaise with other BSL3 laboratories within the RBL network as well as local,
state and federal health agencies to coordinate operations and plan for joint responses to new infectious disease
threats. The AMRS core will develop critical animal models including those of SARS-CoV2 and highly pathogenic
influenza virus transmission, COVID-19 PASC, pulmonary impairment after TB (PIAT), and drug treatment
models, and then support grant funded investigators in the performance of these models along with the advanced
instrumentation needed to analyze these infected models and their tissues/cells in a BSL3 environment.
Together, these three cores will significantly enhance the near- and long-term abilities of the RBL to address
critical biothreats and emerging infectious diseases requiring study in a BSL3 laboratory setting, while also
increasing our capacity to respond to the next public health emergency or pandemic.
Terms: <2019 novel corona virus><2019 novel coronavirus><2019-nCoV><AIDS Virus><Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Virus><Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Virus><Address><Advanced Instrumentation><After Care><After-Treatment><Aftercare><Animal Husbandries><Animal Husbandry><Animal Model><Animal Models and Related Studies><Animals><Antitubercular Drugs><B anthracis><B. anthracis><Bacillus anthracis><Biological Agent><Biological Products><Body Tissues><Budgets><C auris><C. auris><CHIKV><COVID-19><COVID-19 virus><COVID19 virus><CV-19><Candida auris><Categories><Cell Body><Cells><Certification><Chikungunya virus><CoV-2><CoV2><Collaborations><Computer Instrumentation><Computers and Advanced Instrumentation><Containment><Coronavirus Infectious Disease 2019><Cryptococcus><Development><Diagnostic><Diagnostics Research><Disasters><Drug Therapy><Emergency response><Emerging Communicable Diseases><Emerging Infectious Diseases><Ensure><Environment><Equipment><Equipment and supply inventories><F tularensis><F. tularensis><Faculty><Francisella tularensis><Funding><Goals><Grant><HIV><Health><Human Immunodeficiency Viruses><Impairment><Infectious disease threat><Influenza Virus><Institution><Inventory><Investigators><Joints><LAV-HTLV-III><Laboratories><Laboratory Research><Life Cycle><Life Cycle Stages><Lung><Lung Respiratory System><Lymphadenopathy-Associated Virus><M tb><M tuberculosis><M tuberculosis infection><M. tb><M. tb infection><M. tuberculosis><M. tuberculosis infection><M.tb infection><M.tuberculosis infection><MTB infection><Maintenance><Microbiology><Mission><Modeling><Monkey Pox><Monkeypox><Mycobacterium tuberculosis><Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection><Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection><NIH><National Institutes of Health><PASC><Pasteurella pestis><Pasteurella tularensis><Pathogenesis><Pathogenicity><Performance><Pharmacotherapy><Post Acute Sequelae of COVID19><Post Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2><Post Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV2><Post Acute Sequelae of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2><Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 Infection><Procedures><R-Series Research Projects><R01 Mechanism><R01 Program><Research><Research Activity><Research Contracts><Research Grants><Research Personnel><Research Project Grants><Research Projects><Research Resources><Research Support><Research Training><Researchers><Resources><SARS corona virus 2><SARS-CO-V2><SARS-COVID-2><SARS-CoV-2><SARS-CoV2><SARS-associated corona virus 2><SARS-associated coronavirus 2><SARS-coronavirus-2><SARS-related corona virus 2><SARS-related coronavirus 2><SARSCoV2><Safety><Scientist><Services><Severe Acute Respiratory Coronavirus 2><Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome CoV 2><Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Corona Virus 2><Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Coronavirus 2><Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoV 2><Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-associated coronavirus 2><Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-related coronavirus 2><Severe acute respiratory syndrome associated corona virus 2><Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2><Severe acute respiratory syndrome related corona virus 2><Shipping><System><TB drugs><TB infection><TB therapy><TB treatment><Therapeutic><Tissues><Torula><Training><Tuberculosis><United States><United States National Institutes of Health><Universities><Viral><Virulent><Virus-HIV><Waste Management><Work><Workforce Development><Wuhan coronavirus><Y pestis><Y. pestis><Yersinia pestis><adverse sequelae of COVID><adverse sequelae of COVID-19><adverse sequelae of coronavirus disease><adverse sequelae of coronavirus disease 2019><anthracis><anti-TB drugs><anti-tuberculosis drugs><bio-threat><biocontainment facility><biocontainment lab><biocontainment laboratory><biologics><biopharmaceutical><biosecurity><biotherapeutic agent><biothreat><chronic COVID-19 sequelae><coronavirus disease 2019><coronavirus disease 2019 virus><coronavirus disease-19><coronavirus disease-19 virus><coronavirus infectious disease-19><cost><developmental><disease model><disorder model><disseminated TB><disseminated tuberculosis><drug treatment><end of life><end-of-life><hCoV19><improved><infection due to Mycobacterium tuberculosis><influenzavirus><laboratory facility><life course><long haul sequelae of COVID-19><long haul sequelae of coronavirus disease 2019><long-term sequelae of COVID-19><long-term sequelae of SARS-CoV-2><long-term sequelae of coronavirus disease 2019><long-term sequelae of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2><model of animal><mpox><mtb><nCoV2><operation><operations><pandemic><pandemic disease><pandemic disease preparedness><pandemic planning><pandemic preparedness><pandemic readiness><pathogen><post COVID-19 sequelae><post acute sequelae following COVID-19><post treatment><post-acute sequelae following SARS-CoV-2 infection><post-acute sequelae of COVID-19><post-acute sequelae of acute COVID infection><post-acute sequelae of coronavirus disease 2019><public health emergency><pulmonary><recruit><response><treat M. tuberculosis><treat Mtb><treat Mycobacterium tuberculosis><treat tb><treat tuberculosis><tuberculosis drugs><tuberculosis infection><tuberculosis therapy><tuberculosis treatment><tuberculous spondyloarthropathy><viral transmission><virology><virus transmission>