The larger federal contract continues $1.8-million in pilot funding received last year by the USF Center for Biological Defense to begin a statewide, integrated research and education initiative addressing bioterrorism preparedness.
The Center is a joint project of the USF College of Public Health and the Florida Department of Health. Based at the William G. "Doc" Myers Tampa Branch Laboratory, the center is directed by Jacqueline Cattani, PhD, professor of environmental and occupational health at USF. It houses a Biosafety Level 3 laboratory to rapidly detect and identify the biological agents most likely to be released by weapons of mass destruction.
The surveillance system and improved technologies being developed by the Center to defend against germ warfare will also be useful in spotting and tracking naturally-occurring infectious diseases such as West Nile virus, Dr. Cattani said. "We will be able to apply the work we do to many different kinds of public health emergencies."
The center's bioterrorism-related projects will be conducted by faculty at USF, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton; the University of Florida, Gainesville; and the University of West Florida, Pensacola.
The studies include development of new surveillance systems to accurately detect a potential bioterrorist attack. Other work involves safeguards against pathogens that might be introduced into U.S. animal herds, the food supply, or crops.
Editor's Note: A fact sheet listing the eight bioterrorism-related research projects funded through the University of South Florida Center for Biological Defense is available upon request.