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Battling the threat of bioterror

Profiles of five students designing ways to detect & thwart attacks

(May 4, 2007)

Megan Frisk – Working toward her Ph.D. in analytical chemistry, Frisk has developed microfluidic devices housing protein-modified hydrogels and self-assembled peptide monolayers for the detection of botulinum neurotoxin type A (BoNT/A). The most potent bacterial toxin known, BoNT/A can be lethal at very minute doses. Frisk, a member of the DHS National Center for Food Protection and Defense, sees the necessity to detect very low concentrations of BoNT/A rapidly in solutions such as the milk supply and recognizes an important consequence of her work as being the use of this high-throughput microfluidic platform to simultaneously detect other bacterial toxins such as anthrax and other types of BoNT.

Ashley Howell – Majoring in public policy with a minor in peace and conflict studies at the University of Southern California, Howell, a member of the DHS CREATE Center, has compiled a biological agent database that details each one’s viral composition, disease capabilities, dissemination rate, and countermeasures. Agents are also categorized into a chart based on morality rate, type of agent, and curability, and includes measures such as affordability, accessibility and dissemination to imminently cause the gravest impact and threat to society. Howell also examines multimedia sources such as terrorist websites and publicans to future accessibility and dissemination. Her research is being used in the Bioterrorism Risk Assessment for DHS produced by the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC) for the White House.

Steve Lindemann – A graduate of Purdue University and now a Ph.D. student in microbiology at Iowa, Lindemann studies the virulence of Francisella tularensis, specifically interactions with nonprofessional phagocytic cells. His work seeks to understand the genetic basis of Francisella tularensis as it is capable of invading cells in vitro. An end goal of Lindemann’s work is the recognition of a new invasive pathway to aid the design of inhibitors to treat tularemia even in the event that Francisella tularensis may be maliciously engineered to be resistant to antibiotics. A description of his work is currently in press at the Infection and Immunity Journal. Lindemann is a 2004 DHS Fellow and was an intern at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in 2004 and at Los Alamos National Laboratory in 2005. He is a member of the DHS Student and Alumni Network Leadership Council.

Scott Walper – Walper, a Ph.D. candidate from the University of Southern Mississippi, is developing technologies to improve the rate of detection of potential bio-terrorism threats such as Bacillus anthracis or Clostridium Botulinum. Based on the isolation of highly specific antibodies, Walper, working through the DHS Southeast Region Research Initiative, is constructing a biosensor for the rapid detection of specific contaminants in liquid. His research requires the creation of an antibody gene that allows for the mating of a specific antibody with its target antigen.

Doug Watson – A 2005 DHS Fellow and a summer 2006 intern in Dr. Blanca Lupiani’s laboratory at the DHS Foreign Animal and Zoonotic Disease Defense Center, Watson developed bead-based assays for detection of antibodies against avian influenza in poultry. Earning his Ph.D. in bioengineering at the University of California-San Francisco, Watson’s work has led to the simultaneous detection of antibodies against three avian influenza proteins using color-coded fluorescent beads. The test is more sensitive and specific than some commercially available diagnostic assays. Watson anticipates graduating in 2008. His research was presented at the 2007 DHS Research and Education Summit in Washington D.C.