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Responsible Research with Biological Select Agents and Toxins (2009)

Chapter: Appendix B: Information on Briefings and Site Visits

« Previous: Appendix A: Committee Member and Staff Biographies
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Information on Briefings and Site Visits." National Research Council. 2009. Responsible Research with Biological Select Agents and Toxins. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12774.
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Appendix B
Information on Briefings and Site Visits

As part of its information gathering, the committee held in-person briefings at two committee meetings and engaged in site visits at several institutions. Information about these meetings and site visits is contained below.


COMMITTEE MEETINGS


MEETING #1 AGENDA


MONDAY, JUNE 29, 2009

OPEN SESSION

11:00 a.m.

Representatives of project sponsor and interagency Working Group

 

• H. Clifford Lane, Director, Division of Clinical Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health

 

• Ben Petro, Director for Biological Threat Reduction and Counterterrorism Policy, Office of the Coordinator for WMD Prevention, National Security Council, Executive Office of the President

 

• Carol D. Linden, Principal Deputy Director, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Department of Health and Human Services

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Information on Briefings and Site Visits." National Research Council. 2009. Responsible Research with Biological Select Agents and Toxins. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12774.
×

12:00 p.m.

Overview of Select Agent Program (lunch will be available)

 

• Robbin Weyant, Director, Division of Select Agents and Toxins, Coordinating Office for Terrorism Preparedness and Emergency Response, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

 

Respondents

 

• LouAnn C. Burnett, Assistant Director and Biological Safety Officer, Vanderbilt Environmental Health & Safety, Vanderbilt University

 

• Dennis W. Metzger, Professor and Theopold Smith Alumni Chair; Director, Center for Immunology and Microbial Disease, Albany Medical College [by teleconference]

1:45 p.m.

Research and lessons from other sectors

 

• Kelley Krokos, Senior Research Scientist, American Institutes for Research

2:30 p.m.

Break

2:45 p.m.

Laboratory security

 

Overview of biosafety, biosurety, and biosecurity: Robert J. Hawley (committee member), Senior Advisor, Science, Mid-Atlantic Operations, Midwest Research Institute

 

Implementation of biosurety: Jeffrey Adamovicz, Principal Science Advisor, Center for Biological Safety and Security, Mid-Atlantic Operations, Midwest Research Institute

 

Physical and operational security solutions: Paul Langevin (committee member), Director of Laboratory Design, Merrick and Company

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Information on Briefings and Site Visits." National Research Council. 2009. Responsible Research with Biological Select Agents and Toxins. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12774.
×

3:45 p.m.

Personnel reliability

 

Lessons from polygraph testing: Kevin R. Murphy, Professor of Psychology, Penn State University; Member, Committee to Review the Scientific Evidence on the Polygraph, National Research Council

 

Establishing a culture of trust: Mary P. Rowe, Ombudsperson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Adjunct Professor of Negotiation and Conflict Management, MIT Sloan School of Management [by videoconference]; Linda Wilcox, Ombudsperson, Harvard Medical School, Harvard Dental School, and Harvard School of Public Health [by videoconference]

4:45 p.m.

General Discussion and Public Comment

5:30 p.m.

End of open session

TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 2009

OPEN SESSION

9:00 a.m.

Lessons from the nuclear community: Richard A. Meserve, President, Carnegie Institution for Science; Former Chairman, Nuclear Regulatory Commission

9:45 a.m.

Lessons from workplace violence

 

• Robert A. Fein, Department of Psychiatry, McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School

 

• Bryan Vossekuil, National Violence Prevention and Study Center; Former Executive Director, National Threat Assessment Center, U.S. Secret Service (retired)

10:30 a.m.

End of open session

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Information on Briefings and Site Visits." National Research Council. 2009. Responsible Research with Biological Select Agents and Toxins. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12774.
×

MEETING #2 AGENDA


MONDAY, AUGUST 10, 2009

OPEN SESSION

8:30 a.m.

Introduction and overview of open session (Breakfast will be available)

 

• Rita R. Colwell (Committee Chair), Distinguished University Professor, University of Maryland, College Park and Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health; President and CEO, CosmosID, Inc.

8:45 a.m.

Briefings on relevant issues from the aviation industry

 

• Diane L. Damos, President, Damos Aviation Services, Inc.

 

• Bruce Landry, Safety and Certification Specialist, Airport Safety and Operations Division, Federal Aviation Administration

10:00 a.m.

Briefings on Security Risk Assessments in the broader security clearance context

 

• M. Colleen Crowley, Executive Program Director, Policy, Research, and Agency Support Program, Federal Investigative Services Division, U.S. Office of Personnel Management

 

• J. William Leonard, Principal, The Leonard Consulting Group, LLC

 

• Sheldon I. Cohen, Sheldon I. Cohen & Assoc., Attorneys At Law

11:15 a.m.

General discussion (Lunch will be available)

12:30 p.m.

Van transportation to site visit locations

1:30 p.m.

Site visits to select agent laboratories

 

George Mason University: National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Diseases, Manassas, VA

 

U.S. Department of Agriculture: National Plant Germplasm and Biotechnology Laboratory, Beltsville, MD

5:30 p.m.

End of open session; van transportation back to Keck Center

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Information on Briefings and Site Visits." National Research Council. 2009. Responsible Research with Biological Select Agents and Toxins. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12774.
×

TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2009

CLOSED SESSION—COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND STAFF ONLY


WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2009

OPEN SESSION

9:00 a.m.

Discussion of report from Executive Order Working Group (Breakfast available)

 

• Carol D. Linden, Principal Deputy Director, Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Department of Health and Human Services

10:00 a.m.

End of open session

SITE VISITS


Members of the committee and staff conducted site visits and on-site conversations with individuals affiliated with select agent laboratories and other secure facilities at several institutions. Participants at the site visit locations are listed.

  1. New England Regional Center of Excellence (NERCE) for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases Research, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA; visited August 4, 2009

    • Gerald Beltz, Associate Director for Research, NERCE

    • Christine Anderson, Assistant Director, BSL-3 Animal and Tissue Culture Core Laboratory, NERCE

    • Mary Corrigan, Associate Director, Environmental Health and Safety, Harvard University

    • Robert A. Dickson, Associate Director of Operations, Harvard Medical School

    • Sarah Heninger, Assistant Director, Microbiology & Animal Resources Core Laboratory, NERCE

    • Jeff M. Seo, Director of Research Compliance, Harvard Medical School

  1. MIT Nuclear Reactor Laboratory (NRL), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA; visited August 4, 2009

    • John Bernard, Director of Reactor Operations, NRL

    • David Carpenter, Doctoral Student in Nuclear Science and Engineering, MIT

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Information on Briefings and Site Visits." National Research Council. 2009. Responsible Research with Biological Select Agents and Toxins. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12774.
×
  • Patricia Drooff, Officer, Reactor-Radiation Protection Program, Environment, Health and Safety Office, MIT

  • Edward S. Lau, Superintendent, NRL

  • William B. McCarthy, Deputy Director, Reaction Radiation Protection Program, Environment, Health and Safety Office, MIT

  • Thomas H. Newton, Jr., Associate Director for Engineering, NRL

  • Kathleen A. O’Connell, Senior Administrative Assistant, NRL

  1. MIT Environment, Health and Safety Office, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA; visited August 4, 2009

    • Claudia A. Mickelson, Deputy Director, Biosafety Program

  1. National Plant Germplasm and Biotechnology Laboratory, Center for Plant Health, Science, and Technology, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD; visited August 10, 2009

    • Laurene Levy, Laboratory Director

    • Wayne P. Claus, Facility Manager

    • Renee DeVries, Quality Manager

    • Joseph P. Kozlovac, Agency Biosafety Officer, Animal Production & Protection, Agricultural Research Service

  1. National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Diseases (NCBID), George Mason University (GMU), Manassas, VA; visited August 10, 2009

    • Charles Bailey, Distinguished Professor of Biology; Laboratory Director, Biomedical Research Laboratory; Executive Director, NCBID

    • Saira Ahmad, Doctoral Student

    • Lilian S. Amer, Masters Student

    • John H. Blacksten, Director, GMU Office of Media & Public Relations

    • Calvin Carpenter, Deputy Director and Chief of Contract Services, Biomedical Research Laboratory, NCBID

    • Jessica H. Chertow, Doctoral Student

    • Myung-Chul Chung, Research Associate Professor, NCBID

    • Meghan W. Durham-Colleran, Doctoral Student

    • Suhua Han, Laboratory and Research Specialist, NCBID

    • Jessica Kidd, Laboratory and Research Specialist, NCBID

    • Nathan Manes, Postdoctoral Research, NCBID

    • Beth McKenney, Masters Student

    • Marjorie Z. Musick, Manager, GMU Office of Media & Public Relations

    • Tony Pierson, Doctoral Student

    • Kathleen Powell, Administrative Specialist, NCBID

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Information on Briefings and Site Visits." National Research Council. 2009. Responsible Research with Biological Select Agents and Toxins. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12774.
×
  • Meena Rajan, HR Operations Coordinator, GMU Human Resources & Payroll

  • Ian Reynolds, Human Resources Consultant, GMU Human Resources & Payroll

  • Diann Stedman, Director, Laboratory Safety, GMU Environmental Health & Safety Office

  • Anne Taylor, Technical Operations Manager, NCBID

  • Patty Theimer, Senior Fiscal Technician, GMU Life Sciences

  • Monique L. van Hoek, Assistant Professor of Molecular and Microbiology

  • Anne B. Verhoeven, Doctoral Student

  • Paul R. Wieber, Security Manager, Prince William Campus, GMU Police

  • James D. Willett, Professor of Molecular and Microbiology

  • Ronald Witt, Director of Maintenance and Operations, Biomedical Research Laboratory, NCBID

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Information on Briefings and Site Visits." National Research Council. 2009. Responsible Research with Biological Select Agents and Toxins. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12774.
×

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Information on Briefings and Site Visits." National Research Council. 2009. Responsible Research with Biological Select Agents and Toxins. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12774.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Information on Briefings and Site Visits." National Research Council. 2009. Responsible Research with Biological Select Agents and Toxins. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12774.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Information on Briefings and Site Visits." National Research Council. 2009. Responsible Research with Biological Select Agents and Toxins. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12774.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Information on Briefings and Site Visits." National Research Council. 2009. Responsible Research with Biological Select Agents and Toxins. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12774.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Information on Briefings and Site Visits." National Research Council. 2009. Responsible Research with Biological Select Agents and Toxins. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12774.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Information on Briefings and Site Visits." National Research Council. 2009. Responsible Research with Biological Select Agents and Toxins. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12774.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Information on Briefings and Site Visits." National Research Council. 2009. Responsible Research with Biological Select Agents and Toxins. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12774.
×
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Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Information on Briefings and Site Visits." National Research Council. 2009. Responsible Research with Biological Select Agents and Toxins. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12774.
×
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The effort to understand and combat infectious diseases has, during the centuries, produced many key advances in science and medicine—including the development of vaccines, drugs, and other treatments. A subset of this research is conducted with agents that, like anthrax, not only pose a severe threat to the health of humans, plants, and animals but can also be used for ill-intended purposes. Such agents have been listed by the government as biological select agents and toxins. The 2001 anthrax letter attacks prompted the creation of new regulations aimed at increasing security for research with dangerous pathogens. The outcome of the anthrax letter investigation has raised concern about whether these measures are adequate.

Responsible Research with Biological Select Agents and Toxins evaluates both the physical security of select agent laboratories and personnel reliability measures designed to ensure the trustworthiness of those with access to biological select agents and toxins. The book offers a set of guiding principles and recommended changes to minimize security risk and facilitate the productivity of research. The book recommends fostering a culture of trust and responsibility in the laboratory, engaging the community in oversight of the Select Agent Program, and enhancing the operation of the Select Agent Program.

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