Welcome

These multidisciplinary centers are key elements of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases' strategic plan for biodefense research to form a highly developed research and development infrastructure with strong translational research capacity to make the next generation of therapeutics, vaccines, and diagnostics against biological agents most likely to be used in a bioterrorist attack.

The NBC Consortium

The NBC will capitalize on the northeast's rich biomedical research resources and experience in
dealing with the World Trade Center tragedy, the subsequent anthrax attacks, and the first
appearance of West Nile virus in the Western Hemisphere.

The NBC's principal investigator and scientific director is Ian Lipkin, M.D., director of the Greene
Infectious Disease Laboratory at Columbia University 's Mailman School of Public Health. Diane
Lawrence Sturman, M.D., Ph.D., director of the New York State Department of Health's
Wadsworth Center laboratories, is the administrative director of the consortium. Diane McFadden, Ph.D. of Columbia University is the associate director of NBC.

The NBC prioritizes the focus of its research on bacterial pathogenesis and therapeutics, viral
pathogenesis and therapeutics, B-cell related interventions, vaccine platforms, translational/clinical components, and diagnostics. Among the pathogens studied, emphasis will be on those pathogens
that are recognized by the CDC as having the highest bioterrorism potential, such as anthrax,
smallpox, plague, tularemia, botulism, and viral hemorrhagic fevers.

The NBC institutions are sharing their facilities to assist research across the region. Importantly, there is an emphasis on developmental research projects within the consortium. The goal of the NBC is to transform scientific discoveries into practical applications for biodefense as quickly as possible.

The NBC aims to expand the scope and range of research, investigators, and institutions involved in biodefense research. Furthermore, to increase the availability of researchers for biodefense, a number of career development projects are organized through the NBC. These training programs, aimed at researchers, technicians, and clinicians, will further increase the pool of contributors to biodefense.