BSL3 and BSL4 Agents – Proteomics, Glycomics and Antigenicity

Prof. J. Stulik, MD, PhD is a head of the Institute of Molecular Pathology, Faculty of Military Health Sciences. This institute is the only facility in Czech Republic engaged in biodefense research. The research activity is focused on intracellular pathogen Francisella tularensis that is classified as a class A agent by the U.S. government. The institute exploits the methods of functional genomics and system biology for the identification of both microbial and host molecules involved in host-pathogen interaction. The results of this study are important for development of new prophylactic and therapeutic agents against tularemia. Rudolf Toman, PhD, DSc is head of the Laboratory for Diagnosis and Prevention of Rickettsial and Chlamydial Infections at the Institute of Virology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava, Slovakia. The laboratory is engaged in microbiological and glycomics/proteomics studies of BSL3 bacteria that potentially can be used as biological warfare agents. The special emphasis is put on the intracellular pathogen Coxiella burnetii that is classfied as a category B biological warfare agent by the US authorities. Structure/function relationship studies of the surface macromolecules (lipopolysaccharides and proteins) of C. burnetii, Rickettsiae and Chlamydiae are performed together with characterization of their immunodominant epitopes with the aim to develop new diagnostic and prophylactic agents against these highly infectious pathogens. Patrick Butaye is a veterinary researcher at the Veterinary and Agrochemical Research Center in Brussels with a focus on antimicrobial resistance in bacteria from animal origin. Robert G. Ulrich is chief of the Department of Immunology and head of the Laboratory of Molecular Immunology at the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID). USAMRIID is the primary U.S. Department of Defense laboratory dedicated to research in biodefense and infectious diseases. He received a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from Baylor College of Medicine. His laboratory uses microarrays and other proteomic tools to study virulence factors, protein interaction networks and host responses to infectious diseases. This work has resulted in the development of many patented diagnostic assays and vaccines.