A newsletter for friends of RAGS

A newsletter for friends of RAGS

Division of Research, Graduate Studies and Technology Transfer

A new academic center, the Northeast Ohio Consortium for Biopreparedness has been established at KentStateUniversity by a grant from the U. S. Public Health Service’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  KentState is now the headquarters for this major initiative,  designed to counter the threat of bio-terrorism.   The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have established 75 academic centers for public health preparedness throughout the United States.  The KentState center is to combine research, education and workforce development initiatives to help detect biological agents and to provide training in effective countermeasures.

            With the help of U. S. Rep. Ralph Regula (R-Navarre), chair of the Subcommittee on Labor, Health, Human Services and Education, a congressionally-directed allocation of $698,926 has been made to KentState to establish the center.  A portion of the federal allocation will be used to renovate an existing KentState lab over the coming year and equip it as a training facility for first responders, public health personnel and scientists.  Training conducted through the facility will involve teaching the proper techniques to identify, prevent and control acts of bioterrorism.  Equipped for distance learning, the lab will allow educators to extend the reach of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the fight against bioterrorism.

Potential new Biopreparedness Consortium partners include Kent State University, the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, The University of Akron, Youngstown State University, Cleveland State University, Case Western Reserve University, Summa Health Care System, Steris Corporation, EnviroChipx, LLC, GOJO, the 910th Airlift Wing Command, and the Kent City School District.   Members have already expressed interest in using the facility to test new disinfecting agents, for example.   The faculty coordinator for the consortium center and project director for the federally-funded project is Dr. Christopher Woolverton of biological sciences.