UC7AI180311

Pitt RBL - Overall Abstract: The Regional Biocontainment Laboratory (RBL) within the Center for Vaccine Research (CVR) at the University of Pittsburgh is the Biosafety Level-3 (BSL-3) hub for infection biology.

The mission of the RBL is threefold, to work on pathogen emergence, evolution and host-to-host transmission, to study the pathogenesis of emerging infectious diseases, and to accelerate pre-clinical development of novel interventions and medical countermeasures for pandemic preparedness and biodefense.

Our vision is to be a globally recognized, highly-collaborative, creative and forward-facing team of infection biologists who are poised to respond to emerging biological threats both at the national and international level.

The entire facility is registered with the Division of Select Agents and Toxins (DSAT). It brings together infection biologists and clinicians from a variety of disciplines who require BSL-3 and Animal (A)BSL-3 facilities for their wide-ranging viral and bacterial research programs.

We propose to establish operations, practices, and integrated services cores and formally operationalize our existing structures. These have evolved from the time the RBL was established, and although they have served their purpose, require modernization to ensure they will remain current and operationally fit-for-purpose.

The Operations Core will have overall management and budgetary responsibility for the RBL. It will administer the daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly BSL-3 activities essential for the support and services arms of the RBL to function. This will ensure that the BSL-3 laboratories are run and maintained at the highest standards and they are safe and secure.

The Practices Core will support all the basic functions of the RBL enabling scientific programs to be rigorously managed and ensuring overall data integrity for reproducible outcomes. It will provide the requisite theoretical and practical trainings to onboard new RBL investigators and their teams who wish to work in BSL-3 and ABSL-3 biocontainment. It will provide biosafety and biosecurity support and guarantee the facility meets all current compliance regulations for Tier 1 Select Agent registered laboratories.

The Integrated Services Core will deliver a wide range of high-quality BSL-3 and ABSL-3 services for internal users and external collaborators. These will be rigorously overseen by academic and service leads and reviewed annually with the assistance of an external RBL Director, other BSL-3 experts, and an internal scientific advisory group.

Operational support for the RBL in Pittsburgh will ensure we are ready to support any national response to a range of emerging infectious diseases in the event of another pandemic or bioterrorism attack. Supporting this cohort of BSL-3 scientists, who can pivot to work on new pathogens in an emergency, is certain to pay dividends.

University Of Pittsburgh - Of The Commonwealth System Of Higher Education

TO ASSIST PUBLIC AND PRIVATE NONPROFIT INSTITUTIONS AND INDIVIDUALS TO ESTABLISH, EXPAND AND IMPROVE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH AND RESEARCH TRAINING IN INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND RELATED AREAS, TO CONDUCT DEVELOPMENTAL RESEARCH, TO PRODUCE AND TEST RESEARCH MATERIALS. TO ASSIST PUBLIC, PRIVATE AND COMMERCIAL INSTITUTIONS TO CONDUCT DEVELOPMENTAL RESEARCH, TO PRODUCE AND TEST RESEARCH MATERIALS, TO PROVIDE RESEARCH SERVICES AS REQUIRED BY THE AGENCY FOR PROGRAMS IN INFECTIOUS DISEASES, AND CONTROLLING DISEASE CAUSED BY INFECTIOUS OR PARASITIC AGENTS, ALLERGIC AND IMMUNOLOGIC DISEASES AND RELATED AREAS. PROJECTS RANGE FROM STUDIES OF MICROBIAL PHYSIOLOGY AND ANTIGENIC STRUCTURE TO COLLABORATIVE TRIALS OF EXPERIMENTAL DRUGS AND VACCINES, MECHANISMS OF RESISTANCE TO ANTIBIOTICS AS WELL AS RESEARCH DEALING WITH EPIDEMIOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS IN HOSPITALIZED PATIENTS OR COMMUNITY POPULATIONS AND PROGRESS IN ALLERGIC AND IMMUNOLOGIC DISEASES. BECAUSE OF THIS DUAL FOCUS, THE PROGRAM ENCOMPASSES BOTH BASIC RESEARCH AND CLINICAL RESEARCH. SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM EXPANDS AND IMPROVES PRIVATE SECTOR PARTICIPATION IN BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH. THE SBIR PROGRAM INTENDS TO INCREASE AND FACILITATE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, TO INCREASE SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION IN FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION. THE SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (STTR) PROGRAM STIMULATES AND FOSTERS SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION THROUGH COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CARRIED OUT BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO FOSTER TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION. RESEARCH CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARDS SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENTISTS DURING THE FORMATIVE STAGES OF THEIR CAREERS. INDIVIDUAL NATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE AWARDS (NRSAS) ARE MADE DIRECTLY TO APPROVE APPLICANTS FOR RESEARCH TRAINING IN SPECIFIED BIOMEDICAL SHORTAGE AREAS. IN ADDITION, INSTITUTIONAL NATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE AWARDS ARE MADE TO ENABLE INSTITUTIONS TO SELECT AND MAKE AWARDS TO INDIVIDUALS TO RECEIVE TRAINING UNDER THE AEGIS OF THEIR INSTITUTIONAL PROGRAM.

93.855 - Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) [HHS - NIH]

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213 United States

Single Zip Code

Limited Competition: Resources and Workforce Development for the Regional Biocontainment Laboratories (UC7 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (RFA-AI-22-075)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 181% from $2,870,240 to $8,059,892.