Army, Hopkins collaborate on biodefense research

The students will be employed under the Army's Student Career Experience Program and will be eligible for Army reimbursement of their tuition at Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins, school officials said.

The reimbursement agreement is a first for U.S. Army Research Institute of Infections Disease, which has had graduate students, including some from Hopkins, working in its labs for years, institute spokeswoman Caree Vander Linden said.

At least two fellowships will be offered yearly, starting this fall, to students with a biodefense concentration within the biotechnology master's degree program. They will work at USAMRIDD, where scientists study some of the world's most dangerous pathogens, including anthrax, the Ebola virus and botulinum neurotoxin.

"USAMRIID is very excited about sponsoring these master's students and offering them the opportunity to work at USAMRIID on vaccines and therapeutics against extremely interesting pathogens," said Peter Hobart, the institute's science director.

The students will most likely work in biosafety level 3 labs and possibly BSL-4 labs, reserved for the most virulent agents, said Patrick Cummings, senior associate chairman of Hopkins' advanced biotechnology studies program. Some security clearance will be required, Cummings and Associate Chair Kristina Obom said in an e-mail.

Program Chairman Richard McCarty said in a prepared statement that the five-year deal offers invaluable educational opportunities.

"We hope it will lead to future interactions and joint scientific research between our respective faculty and scientists," McCarty said.

USAMRIID develops vaccines, drugs and tests to protect soldiers, but much of what it produces is also applied to civilian medicine. Just last month, scientists from USAMRIID and the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, N.Y., announced progress toward an antidote to the most potent form of botulinum neurotoxin, responsible for the deadly food poisoning disease botulism and for the beneficial effects of smoothing out facial wrinkles.

Biodefense work at Johns Hopkins historically has focused on preparedness and policy questions rather than lab work. The school was home to the Center for Civilian Biodefense Strategies from 1998 to 2003, when that organization moved to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.