The purpose of this application for a Regional Biodefense Laboratory (RBL) is to obtain funds to build a state-of-the-art biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) facility in support of the NIH/NIAID biodefense and emerging infectious diseases research agenda. The application leverages existing infectious diseases and biocontainment capabilities and expertise of the Tulane National Primate Research Center (TNPRC) to support the Regional Centers of Excellence in Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases (RCE) in both Regions IV and VI. Studies in nonhuman primates will be critical to the development of therapeutics and vaccines for NIAID Category A - C agents. The TNPRC is ideally suited to meet this critical need particularly because of our expertise with infectious disease studies and model development in nonhuman primates housed at BSL-3. In addition the TNPRC already functions as a regional and national resource and thus we have the institutional culture and structure to support the RBL mission. The specific objectives of the RBL are to: 1) provide an infrastructure to support regional and national research on Category A - C agents with a focus on work requiring nonhuman primates; 2 ) provide highly integrated clinical care and laboratory investigations to the biodefense research community to obtain the maximum amount of information possible from every animal; and 3) provide oversight on experiments using animals to assure compliance with federal animal welfare and biosafety regulations. These objectives will be facilitated by the participation of the TNPRC in the nonhuman primate cores of the RCE applications from Regions IV and VI.
