February 4, 2005
BIRMINGHAM, AL — UAB today announced plans to extend its research corridor along 19th Street with the construction of the Southeast Biosafety Laboratory Alabama Birmingham (SEBLAB). UAB will demolish two buildings on the 9th Avenue/19th Street site.
In September 2003, UAB received a nearly $16 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to aid in the construction of the research facility, which will be used to help develop the next generation of vaccines, drugs and diagnostic tests for emerging infections such as SARS and West Nile and for defense against organisms such as pox viruses that might be used in bioterrorists attacks.
Following 9/11 and the subsequent anthrax cases, as well as the spread of diseases such as West Nile virus and SARS, a panel of scientific experts determined that the nation needed additional laboratory facilities specifically designed to conduct research into these diseases and biological agents. The NIH asked for proposals for such facilities and UAB received one of the initial 11 grants. Construction of the nearly 35,000 gross-square-foot facility is scheduled to begin at the end of this year, with completion anticipated in late 2007 at a cost of $22,275,000.
In addition to the federal funding, the State of Alabama has committed $5 million to the construction and UAB is providing nearly $1.4 million.
“This facility will serve as a regional resource for researchers throughout the Southeast who are investigating these types of agents,” said Dr. Richard Marchase, interim Vice President for Research at UAB. “UAB has a longstanding international reputation in virology, bacterial pathogenesis and immunology. This facility will enable UAB to continue to work on diseases that affect the people of Alabama and beyond.”
The facility is known as a Biosafety Level-3 (BSL-3) Laboratory. Laboratories that handle infectious agents are rated on four levels. BSL-1 laboratories handle agents that are considered harmless. BSL-4 labs handle agents that are considered extremely dangerous and life-threatening. While the agents handled in BSL-3 labs can cause serious or potentially lethal diseases, there are effective treatment or immunizations available. UAB and its affiliate Southern Research Institute already operate BSL-3 laboratories; their safety record has been flawless.
The research projects planned for the new facility include investigation into new vaccines for pox viruses, botulism and anthrax. Research also will explore the mechanisms by which these and other organisms function with the goal of developing methods to disrupt their life cycle and creating new treatments. Other projects will investigate West Nile Virus, Dengue Fever, Rift Valley Fever, tularemia and Eastern Equine Encephalitis.
During the past two years, UAB researchers received significant grants to continue investigations into infectious disease that affect large numbers of people. UAB is leading a 35-site study to evaluate the effectiveness of a potential new treatment for West Nile virus. This is part of a seven-year, $31 million grant awarded to UAB to support the ongoing research activities of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases' Collaborative Antiviral Study Group. Also, UAB has been awarded a four-and-a-half-year, $16 million grant from the NIAID to lead a multi-center study to develop and test a potential new class of HIV vaccines.
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