Lab takes shape to fight bioterrorism, seek cures
Rosa Ramirez, Rocky Mountain News
Published December 1, 2005 at midnight
FORT COLLINS - Construction has begun on a $33 million laboratory to develop tools against bioterrorism and find cures for infectious diseases.
Colorado State University officials broke ground on the Regional Biocontainment Laboratory on Wednesday at the Foothills Research Campus, some 8 miles west of downtown Fort Collins. The new facility is scheduled to be completed by summer 2007.
The biocontainment lab will connect with other facilities now under construction, resulting in more than 50,000 square feet in research space devoted to the study of infectious diseases.
The campus also houses the Bioenvironmental Research Building, where scientists research tuberculosis and vector-borne diseases such as West Nile virus, and study how viruses live in mosquitoes.
CSU microbiologist Barry Beaty said scientists on campus will test and produce new vaccines for the world market.
The biocontainment lab was funded in part by a $22 million grant awarded in 2003 by the National Institutes of Health.
School officials hope it will become an international hub.
"This will be a significant advancement in health and safety, not only for the people in Colorado, but in the nation and the world," said CSU President Larry Penley.
CSU also hopes it will spur economic development in the area by offering screening and testing of new vaccines and medicines to ensure they meet Food and Drug Administration requirements.
"It will create an economic magnetism" that should draw companies to the area, said Tony Frank, CSU provost and senior vice president. The biocontainment lab will be a Biosafety Level 3 lab, which means it is certified to handle dangerous agents that can develop into a lethal diseases.
Earlier this year, the university was awarded a four-year, $40 million grant from NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for the creation of the Rocky Mountain Regional Center of Excellence.
The money will fund a consortium of researchers from Colorado and five other states to study animal diseases that spread to humans.
Regional Biocontainment Laboratory
Some of the viruses and pathogens that will be studied at the new lab:
• West Nile virus: Most often spread by the bite of an infected mosquito, which has become infected by biting an infected bird. In 2003, there were 9,862 human cases of West Nile virus in the United States, including 264 deaths.
• Dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever: Caused by a virus called Flavivirus, which is spread from human to human by mosquitoes. The virus is mostly found in tropical and subtropical areas. Dengue is the most widespread mosquito-borne viral disease affecting humans.Source: Colorado State University
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