Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases
Biodefense focus areas will include epidemiologic modeling of infectious diseases, molecular epidemiology of infectious diseases, epidemiology of food-borne pathogens, bioinformatics/biostatistics, immunology and molecular biology/cell signaling.
Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases spans multiple disciplines ranging: 1) the molecular and basic biology of hosts and pathogens, 2) host-pathogen interactions, 3) the detection of pathogens and infected hosts, 4) development and implementation of surveillance, therapeutic and preventive programs, and 5) simulation and risk modeling to evaluate and optimize policy decisions. Biodefense and emerging infectious diseases research is being conducted in multiple departments of the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (COALS) as well as the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station (TAES). Several new initiatives at Texas A&M, including the Institute for Countermeasures against Agricultural Bioterrorism (ICAB) and the Integrative Center for Homeland Security, reflect rapid developments in this area that compliment the Signature Programs. The signature program enhancement contains all elements of infectious diseases research, from basic mechanistic research to vaccine development, detection systems, and surveillance and field research.
Since 1998, infectious disease faculty have published 195 peer-reviewed manuscripts, including contributions from clinical science faculty. Research areas have included 1) spatial epidemiology of infectious diseases (Neospora and Salmonella typhimurium), 2) field studies and bacterial molecular pathogenesis (Salmonella typhimurium, Brucella spp., Rhodococcus equi, paratuberculosis), 3) viral molecular pathogenesis (rotavirus, coronaviruses, lentiviruses), 4) molecular and genomic approaches to antimicrobial resistance, and 5) development and evaluation of diagnostic tests and vaccines under field conditions. Since 1998, more than 8 million in extramural grants on infectious diseases have been received by principal investigators in the College of Veterinary Medicine.Links
• Epidemiology and Bioinformatics - http://www.cvm.tamu.edu/vibs/
• Immunology, Bioinformatics, and Cell Signaling - http://vtpb-www.cvm.tamu.edu/
