Like many U.S. research and development agencies, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) was forced to shift priorities almost overnight due to the COVID-19 pandemic. From the start, researchers at S&T's National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC) have raced against the clock to learn as much as possible about the coronavirus so that our nation is better armed to fight, control and defeat the deadly COVID-19 disease. We asked NBACC researchers: when faced with the challenge of a lifetime, where do you start? Here's what they told us. Go back to the basics, starting with anthrax NBACC, the first DHS national laboratory, was established in the wake of the 2001 anthrax attacks to conduct research specifically on bioterrorist threats that endanger our homeland security. "We were starting from a place where there were a lot of gaps in our understanding about anthrax when those attacks happened," said Dr. Lloyd Hough, who leads S&T's Hazard Awareness and Characterization Technology Center (HAC-TC). The HAC-TC provides technical support and guidance for the S&T program Probabilistic Analysis for National Threats Hazards and Risks (PANTHR) and S&T's labs, including NBACC. "We learned quickly how to fill those gaps and how to prioritize the research. We needed to determine the infectious dose, how long the anthrax was stable as a powder in indoor environments. All those experiments and lessons taught us approaches we use when we evaluate emerging biological hazards today, like SARS-CoV-2." | | | | |
U.S. Department of Homeland Security ·
www.dhs.gov · 202-282-8000
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