Medical Center
Terror Research Brings National Grants
Projects designed to improve the country’s response to possible terrorist
attacks using radiological and biological weapons will be the focus of several
Medical Center teams, thanks to $41 million in grants awarded to the University
from the National Institutes of Health last fall.
The total includes a single, $21 million, five-year award to join a nationwide
network of seven institutions funded by the National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Disease (NIAID) to address health issues involving radiological weapons
such as “dirty bombs” that would release low levels of radiation
into the environment.
“We are proud to be a part of the important effort of helping our nation
better prepare for the devastating warfare techniques that have evolved and
threaten our country and the world each day,” said Medical Center CEO
C. McCollister (Mac) Evarts ’57M (MD), ’64M (Res) in announcing
the award.
As part of the $21 million grant, believed to be the largest single grant ever
awarded to the Medical Center by the NIH, Rochester researchers have established
the Center for Biophysical Assessment and Risk Management Following Irradiation.
The new center will focus on finding ways to measure levels of radiation exposure
in humans, treat the toxic effects of radiation, and identify ways to predict
the long-term health risks posed by low levels of radioactive particles.
Paul Okunieff, chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the James
P. Wilmot Cancer Center, and Jacob (Jack) Finkelstein, professor of environmental
medicine, radiation oncology, and pediatrics, share principal investigator duties
on the project.
In separate projects, the NIAID also selected the Medical Center to receive
two $10 million grants to help study defenses against terror attacks involving
viruses or bacteria. One grant will establish the Center for Biodefense Immune
Modeling, which will develop computer simulations of how the human immune system
responds to influenza A and smallpox. That work could help researchers devise
countermeasures, including new ways to boost the body’s ability to fight
disease.
The second $10 million grant will establish the Program for Biodefense of Immunocompromised
Populations. Its goal will be to find new ways to help those most vulnerable
to bioterrorist attack to survive despite having weaker immune systems.
Under the $21 million initiative, the Medical Center will collaborate with
Dartmouth Medical School, the University Health Network in Toronto, and other
laboratories on five projects to develop fast and accurate tools to identify
radiation exposure in large numbers of people.
Project 1: Using blood and skin tests to measure the body’s inflammation
response to toxic radiation exposure. Scientists also hope to identify and evaluate
at least 10 different drugs or natural remedies that might protect the body
from harmful radiation.
Project 2: Understanding how inhaled radioactive dust, smoke, or other ultrafine
particles harm lung tissue and cells, especially in the lower doses most likely
to occur during a radiological attack. Also, scientists will identify agents
that could mitigate the organ damage.
Project 3: Calculating a radiation dose by monitoring the teeth. Scientists
will use a field instrument, developed at Dartmouth, to test its ability to
screen victims’ radiation exposure within minutes. The goal is to be able
to determine very quickly whether people have received a dose of radiation that
could cause immediate, serious health problems.
Project 4: Using a currently available blood test to determine if it could
evaluate levels of radiation exposure and predict future cancer risk.
Project 5: Developing a skin test that could measure DNA damage in the cells
of the superficial layers of skin following radiation exposure.
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