The purpose of this application is to obtain funds to build a 30,000 sf. state of the art regional RBL to support NIH/NIAID biodefense/emerging infectious diseases (B/EID) research in New England (NE). Tufts University, the submitting organization, has the support of the University of Massachusetts, NE Regional Center of Excellence (NERCE), and investigators from other NE academic institutions and the private sector. The current research capabilities are outlined, with reference to biocontainment requirements by investigators from Tufts University, University of Massachusetts, several others academic institutions in NE, and from the private sector. The proposed RBL-NE will be located at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine (TUSVM), and will provide safe environment to strengthen biodefense capabilities against NIAID Category A - C agents. TUSVM is ideally suited to establish and manage this high security facility since its division of infectious diseases (DID) already has the required expertise and the certification needed to handle Select Agents in the laboratory and animal models. DID has expertise in handling rodents, primates and domestic animals housed in BSL-2 or BSL-3, and in aerobiology and insectary. The specific objectives of the RBL-NE are to: 1) provide an infrastructure to support local, regional and national research on Category A -C agents with a focus on work requiring rodents and primates; 2) provide highly integrated laboratory services and animal care to biodefense researchers to obtain maximum information from every animal; 3) provide oversight on animal experiments to assure human safety and compliance with federal animal welfare and biosafety regulations.
