TMC PULSE

t m c » p u l s e | a u g u s t 2 0 1 4 5 t m c » p u l s e | a u g u s t 2 0 1 4 E ntering the Biosafety Level 4 (BSL4) facility at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB), often described as "a submarine inside of a bank vault," is an intricate process. Even before stepping inside the build- ing, researchers must pass through a security checkpoint, manned 24 hours a day, before navigating a series of locked doors, elevators and stairwells, all of which require electronic or other forms of security clearance. Closed- circuit cameras dutifully monitor the entire journey between the building entrance and laboratory entrance. As researchers prepare to cross the threshold into the sealed capsule of the laboratory itself, they must pass the final locked door to enter a buf- fer corridor around the lab. Ensuring that security is air-tight, negative air pressure throughout the buffer corridor and the lab itself maintains air flow from "safer" areas into the BSL4 area— another redundancy built into the sys- tem to counteract the remote potential for infectious particles to escape into the air. Once they've donned positive-pressure suits to protect against any infectious material that might become airborne within the containment lab, scientists pass through an airtight door into the laboratory area. After all that, holding your breath hardly seems necessary. "The complexity and redundancy in our systems ensures that we're secure because we take great care in making sure that everything that leaves the laboratory is completely A Solid Foundation for Biomedical Research inactive, whether it's in the wastewater or the air that you breathe," said James LeDuc, Ph.D., director of the Galveston National Laboratory (GNL) at UTMB. "About half of the building is dedicated to mechanical space just to ensure environmental safety. We have a staff of highly trained professionals working on those systems." Consisting of 96,000 square feet of total laboratory space and a pro- jected economic impact of $1.4 billion stateside over the course of 20 years, work within the Galveston National Laboratory complements and enhances UTMB's decades of prominence in biomedical research. The facility serves as a crowning achievement upon a series of advances that have taken UTMB's infectious disease B y A l e x O r l a n d o program from a local point of pride to an internationally renowned resource. "We have several main thrusts— it's all about bringing the academic community into the response for both national security, in terms of biode- fense, as well as emerging infectious diseases," explained LeDuc. "Through that, we strive to really harness the research capabilities of the academic community to really understand how these unique diseases cause illness in humans." Formally dedicated on Novem- ber 11, 2008, the Galveston National Laboratory provides much needed research space and instrumentation to safely develop therapies, vaccines and diagnostic tests for naturally occurring emerging diseases such as SARS, West Nile encephalitis and avian influ- enza—and for microbes that might be employed by terrorists. Investigations within the GNL have the potential to spur the emergence of products such as novel diagnostic assays, improved therapeutics and treatment models, and preventive measures such as vaccines. Since the early days of the 20th century, when UTMB physicians provided care for victims of the 1918 influenza pandemic and outbreaks of the bubonic plague and yellow fever, UTMB has been actively engaged in influencing infectious disease research. In the past few decades, emerging and reemerging infectious diseases have posed a steadily growing threat, thanks to rises in human population size and density, rapid environmental change, and increases in the speed and volume of transportation. Microbes once limited to remote regions of the globe have shown the potential to penetrate the developed world—viruses like SARS and West Nile. For germs in a world where trans- portation barriers are eroding, interna- tional boundaries mean little. The Galveston National Laboratory was formally dedicated on November 11, 2008. tHe gaLveSton nationaL Laboratory PrOvidEs rEsEarCh sPaCE aNd iNsTruMENTaTiON TO safELy dEvELOP ThEraPiEs, vaCCiNEs aNd diaGNOsTiC TEsTs fOr NaTuraLLy OCCurriNG EMErGiNG disEasEs

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