Monday, August 18
7:30-8:30 am Registration and Morning Coffee
KEYNOTE SESSION:
NEXT KEY TECHNOLOGY CHALLENGES IN BIODEFENSE RESEARCH
8:30 Chairperson’s Opening Remarks
John C. Carrano, Ph.D., Vice President, Research and Development, Luminex Corporation
8:40 DARPA Technology Programs in Biodefense: A Strategic Technology View
Ms. Barbara McQuiston, Director of the Strategic Technology Office (STO), Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
New concepts in the approach in biodefense are needed as our world and technology changes. This presentation will look into the general concerns and potential new arenas in the area of biodefense. A review of several enabling DARPA technologies being pursued will be included.
9:15
Albert Churilla, Ph.D., J.D., Chief, Medical S & T, Chem/Bio Technologies Directorate, Defense Threat Reduction Agency
9:50 Systems Biology in Medical Development
Joseph M. Palma, M.D., MPH, CPE, Senior Medical Advisor, USA Medical Research & Materiel Command
This presentation will highlight the Army’s growing program focused on the application of Systems Biology tools to both the discovery of network biology lead candidates and to the development of pharmaceuticals.
10:25 Coffee Break
11:00 Analysis of the Department of Homeland Security’s Detect-to-Protect (D2P) Biological Sensor Field Tests
Michael Finnin, Research Staff Member, Institute for Defense Analyses
The Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) was asked by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) S&T Directorate and the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center to coordinate, collect, and analyze field data from deployments of DHS’s detect-to-protect (D2P) biological detection sensors under development. IDA has characterized the field sites (buildings, subways, airports) and analyzed the resulting data in order to understand the origins of silent internal alarms recorded by sensors during month-long deployments. This analysis will be used for the development of a system integration plan to develop biological detection systems for DHS’s customers by characterizing the background in various field settings.
11:30 Building an Effective Partnership between the Private Sector and Government for Biodefense Countermeasure Development
Bradley T. Smith, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Center for Biosecurity, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Identification and investment in next generation technologies for biodefense is critical if we are to successfully prepare for current and future threats. Key to the success of current and future medical countermeasure (MCM) development is a strong partnership between the government and private-sector developers. Efforts at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to engage with the private sector as HHS administers BioShield, BARDA, and related MCM development programs will be discussed and lessons for the future will be proposed.
12:00 pm Technology Challenges in Biological Threat Characterization
J. Patrick Fitch, Ph.D., Laboratory Director, National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center, Managed and Operated for DHS by BNBI, President, Battelle National Biodefense Institute, LLC (BNBI)
Scientific discoveries and technologic innovations are occurring at a rapid pace. Several different strategies may be needed to anticipate and address biological threats arising from these advancements. Strategies that NBACC is considering will be presented.
12:30 Luncheon Presentation (Sponsorship Available) or Lunch on Your Own
AUTOMATED SAMPLE PREP
2:00 Chairperson’s Remarks
Kenton L. Lohman, Ph.D., Senior Biotechnology Advisor, Midwest Research Institute, National Capital Region Division
2:10 Fully Automated DNA Preparation Microsystem for Air Samples
Marion Ritzi, Ph.D., Head of Fluidics Group, Fluidics & Simulation, Institüt Für Mikrotechnik Mainz GmbH
A fully-automated system for DNA preparation from airborne bacteria is presented. It enables the capture and lyses of germs and the following binding, washing and eluting steps of the therefore purified DNA. The disposable part of the system comprises a polymer chip that contains filters, mixings structures, turning valves, optical detection structures, a DNA binding matrix and buffer reservoirs with stored liquids. The instrument consists of syringe pumps for liquid transport inside the chip system, motors for valve actuation, heaters with temperature sensors and optical devices for detecting the position of the sample plug inside the chip system.
2:40 One-Step Pathogen Specific DNA Extraction from Whole Blood on a Centrifugal Microfluidic Device
Yoon-Kyoung Cho, Ph.D., Bio & Health Lab, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology
We will report a fully integrated pathogen specific DNA extraction device utilizing centrifugal microfluidics on a CD platform. Using the innovative Laser Irradiated Ferrowax Microvalves (LIFM) together with the rapid cell lysis method using laser irradiation on magnetic particles, we could, for the first time, demonstrate a fully integrated pathogen specific DNA extraction from whole blood on a CD. As a model study, DNA extraction experiments from whole blood spiked with Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and E.coli were conducted. The total process of the plasma separation, mixing with magnetic beads conjugated with target specific antibodies, removal of plasma residual, washing, and DNA extraction was finished within 12 minutes with only one manual step of loading 100 µL of whole blood. Real-time PCR results showed that the concentration of DNA prepared on a CD was as good as that of the samples prepared in conventional bench top method. It demonstrates that our novel centrifugal microfluidics design enables a full integration of complex biological reactions that require multi-step fluidic control.
NOVEL APPROACHES TO TRANSDUCTION & MULTIPLEXING
3:10 Collection, Focusing, and Metering of DNA in Microchannels Using Addressable Electrode Arrays for Portable Low-Power Bioanalysis
Victor M. Ugaz, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University
We describe a focusing method based on a device design incorporating arrays of addressable on-chip microfabricated electrodes that concentrate charged biomolecules (DNA, proteins) by electrophoretically sweeping them along the length of a microchannel. We have also harnessed this effect to develop a new label-free method to detect charged biomolecules in free solution. Here, an electrode array is designed to generate localized zones where the biomolecules become ultra-concentrated (a million-fold or more), resulting in formation of a mesophase that is visible under ordinary white light. The use of very low potentials and currents (e.g. equivalent to a single AA-size battery) combined with ease of fabrication makes this technology broadly applicable as a highly efficient mechanism to achieve sample focusing, as well as a robust label-free method to enable minute sample quantities to be detected in portable bioanalysis systems without the use of chemical fluorophores.
3:40 Identification of Biothreat Agents Using Gel-Drop Microarrays in a Microfluidic Format
Christopher Cooney, Ph.D., Director of Engineering, Akonni Biosystems, Inc.
We have developed a portable, easy-to-use, inexpensive microfluidic flow cell that harbors our gel-drop microarrays (TruArraysTM) for rapid microbial detection and identification. The biodefense microarray panel includes Y. pestis, B. anthracis, Variola major, and VEE. A commercial panel includes Adenovirus, C. pneuomonia, Flu A, Flu B, RSV, and Coronavirus. The high signal-to-noise ratios of the gel-drop microarrays enable identification of these agents using our low-cost optical reader. We have also developed a simple, inexpensive sample preparation device (TruPrepTM), which does not require centrifugation and can process complex samples such as blood, sputum, nasal washes and buccal swabs. TruPrepTM has been configured in a hand-held format and as a module in an automated, integrated platform. Nucleic acid extraction and concentration from large volume samples has been demonstrated using TruPrepTM in as little as 7 minutes.
4:10 Refreshment Break, Exhibit and Poster Viewing
ISOTHERMAL AMPLIFICATION
4:45 A Simple Cassette for the Processing of Nucleic Acids Present in Human Fluid Samples
Haim H. Bau, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, University of Pennsylvania
We describe a point of care, microfluidic system for the detection of nucleic acids in fresh samples of saliva laden with cells and/or viruses. The cassette consists of a single reaction chamber equipped with an alumina membrane for the isolation of nucleic acids. The chamber also contains thermally-released, dry-stored reagents needed for the PCR process. The cassette accepts a raw sample of oral fluid, mixes the sample with stored lysis buffer, and transmits the mixture through the alumina membrane, which retains the nucleic acids. Then, the membrane is washed thoroughly. Next, the wash solution is replaced with water, the chamber is heated to release the PCR reagents, and the temperature of the chamber is cycled to induce DNA amplification. The amplicons can be either detected in situ or discharged into a detector. The yet unoptimized process lasts less than an hour.
5:15 Rapid SNP Diagnostics Using Asymmetric Isothermal Amplification and a New Mismatch-Suppression Technology
Yoshihide Hayashizaki, Ph.D., Project Director & Chief Scientist, Genome Science Laboratory, RIKEN Yokohama Institute
We have developed a sensitive, accurate, rapid, and simple DNA amplification scheme that shows potential for translational medicine from pharmacogenomics-based drug discovery thru to point-of-care diagnostics. Called the SMart Amplification Process (SMAP), the method employs a new DNA polymerase, unique primer design and background suppression technology that can amplify target sequences from crude cell lysates without thermocycling. The specificity of the SMAP assay enables detection of single-nucleotide differences, such as somatic mutations in tumors and SNP variants. Because mis-match amplification can be completely suppressed in SMAP, a reliable diagnostic result can be achieved based exclusively on amplification alone. From sample preparation to detection, amplification and hence diagnostic determination can be achieved in as little as 30 minutes from raw blood. SMAP is a new tool available to the research and medical community; it achieves a highly desirable single-step process goal for molecular diagnostics where “amplification equals detection”.
5:45 Networking Reception
6:45 Close of Day One