6th Annual
Biosurveillance Integration
Integrated Management of Threats to Public Health & Safety
June 29, 2017
The national strategy for biosurveillance calls for a coordinated approach for threats to public health and safety. This coordinated approach brings together federal, state and local governments; private sector, nongovernmental organizations and international partners to enhance existing biosurveillance capabilities and develop new ones that provide decision makers and responders with the essential information to manage these threats. This strategy recognizes that a well-integrated national biosurveillance enterprise can save lives by providing essential information for better decision making at all levels. This symposium will address implementation strategies for the national strategy for biosurveillance identified core functions.
Final Agenda
Thursday, June 29
8:00 am Registration and Morning Coffee
8:55 Chairperson’s Opening Remarks
Dave Ussery, Ph.D., Professor, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
9:00 OPENING KEYNOTE PRESENTATION: Biosurveillance to Protect the Homeland
Luther Lindler, Ph.D., Senior Scientist (ST), Biological Programs, Chemical and Biological Defense Division Science and Technology Directorate, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
One of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) responsibilities is to protect the U.S. from a biological attack. The Science and Technology Directorate, through the Chemical and Biological Defense Division (CBD), has developed a Real Time Threat Awareness biosurveillance program that integrates information data streams with new detection technologies. This presentation will discuss the interest areas and progress DHS CBD is making toward building a 21st century biosurveillance program.
9:30 The ADEPT Program: Accelerated Defense against Emerging Dangerous Pathogens
Gustavo Palacios, Director, Genomic Center, United States Army Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID)
This presentation will examine how the ADEPT program is improving our national biopreparedness against the emerging pathogen threats.
10:00 Networking Coffee Break
10:45 Climate Change, Emerging Infectious Diseases and Community Health Resilience: The Need for Early Warning
Jeffrey Stiefel, Ph.D., Executive Coordinator, Climate Change and Health Resilience, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
11:15 Decision Support Tools to Enhance Situational Awareness for Global Infectious Disease Surveillance
Alina Deshpande, Ph.D., Group Leader, Biosecurity and Public Health, Bioscience Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Situational awareness is important for both early warning and early detection of a disease outbreak, and analytics and tools that furnish information on how an infectious outbreak would either emerge or unfold provide enhanced situational awareness for decision makers/analysts/public health officials, and support planning for prevention or mitigation. This presentation describes a suite of tools developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) that provide actionable information and knowledge for enhanced situational awareness during an unfolding event.
11:45 The Economic and Social Impact of Emerging and Re-Emerging Infectious Disease: Mitigation through Education, Detection, Research, and Response
David L. Hirschberg, Ph.D., Lecturer and Scientist, Department of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences and the Institute of Global Engagement, University of Washington, Tacoma
12:15 pm Luncheon Presentation (Sponsorship Opportunity Available) or Enjoy Lunch on Your Own
1:40 Chairperson’s Remarks
David L. Hirschberg, Ph.D., Lecturer and Scientist, Department of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences and the Institute of Global Engagement, University of Washington, Tacoma
1:45 Real Time Monitoring of RNA Viruses from Clinical Isolates
Dave Ussery, Ph.D., Professor, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
We have sequenced the genomes of several different RNA viruses from clinical isolates, using third-generation sequencing technology. The sample preparation time and experimental analysis are becoming short enough that it is possible to obtain a genome sequence from a patient within a few hours from the time of collection, at an economical cost. Phylogenomic analysis can provide rapid classification of possible geographic origins of the virus, as well as choice of which vaccine might be best to use for a current outbreak.
2:15 Surveillance for Foodborne Pathogens and Their Antimicrobial Resistance - Indian Case Study
Neelam Taneja, Professor, Medical Microbiology, PGIMER Chandigarh, India
Surveillance for foodborne pathogens has been neglected in India. A lot of antibiotics which are critical to human usage are being used as growth promoters. We present the data from the comprehensive surveillance we are doing in a large part of India across 5 states of India.
2:45 Alternatives to Unbiased NGS for Pathogen Identification
Tom Slezak, Ph.D., Distinguished Member of the Technical Staff, Global Security Program, Lawrence Livermore National Lab
There clearly is no alternative for deep, unbiased NGS sequencing for the rare cases where a novel pathogen needs to be discovered from a complex clinical sample. But the overwhelming majority of the time pathogen identification is among the set of known (e.g., full genome sequences available) microbial organisms. We will discuss the range of options and costs available for technologies such as highly-multiplexed PCR, targeted amplification, sequence capture, and pan-microbial microarrays for laboratory and POC use.
3:15 Networking Refreshment Break
3:30 Epidemiology and Big Data Characterization of Multiple Co-Infections in a Clinical Setting in Rural Kenya
Harshini Mukundan, Ph.D., Team Leader, Chemistry Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Diseases do not evolve alone. Their prevalence and dynamics are dependent on other population variables such as nutrition, distance from clinic and other pathogens that co-exist in the population. These factors cannot be recreated in a laboratory setting. Herein we present observations and critical implications derived from the study of multiple infections co-existing in one of the highest disease-burdened populations in the world- rural Siaya, Kenya.
4:00 Biosurveillance in Resource-Limited Environments
Chris Taitt, Ph.D., Research Biologist, United States Naval Research Laboratory
We are collaborating with clinical researchers in Sierra Leone, West Africa, to test a variety of facile diagnostic platforms for infectious diseases in a resource-limited environment. Biosurveillance data generated on-site in Sierra Leone is uploaded to a cloud-based database, where they can be shared with researchers here in the US.
4:30 Rapid Screening and Reliable Identification of Microbial Contamination in Food Samples Using Proteomics Mass Spectrometry Method
Rabih E. Jabbour, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center
Every year in the U.S., there are over 48 million cases of foodborne illness. The mass spectrometry proteomics method (MSPM) does not require enrichment and is pathogen agnostic. MSPM was applied in the detection of bacteria and toxin in food samples and the results of these studies are encouraging and provide a novel venue to perform rapid analyses and accurate identification of microbes in foods samples without prior knowledge of the sample.
5:00 End of Biosurveillance Symposium