Updates from Ft Detrick

It’s Sunday morning, watching Meet the Press, so I guess it is a good time to update a few things going on at the Fort.

First, I will make a disclosure that much of my information is coming through my affiliation with the Frederick Chapter of AFCEA International. I have blogged this before, but wanted you to take a look at the updated and improved web site. Of particular note is the AFCEA Golf Outing at Whiskey Creek May 13th. Since we all like to golf and MdBio is no longer sponsoring their tournament in Frederick (which was always one of the best BioTech social events of the year IMHO), we’re going to try ad carry on the tradition. There are still sponsorships available and you can bet I’ll be harassing my friends at MedImmune, Lonza and other big Bio’s to get involved.

The presentation last month was by David W. Williams, US Army Medical Research & Material Command. You can get a copy of his presentation HERE. The USAMRMC and Mr Williams command a huge purchasing budget for all things related to Medical Materials and Medical-directed Research. The emphasis of this presentation were updates regarding the construction of the consolidated Logistics facility, the Defense Medical Logistics Center.

Also at the Fort this month, I wanted to highlight the excellent Seminar series, which is open to the public. I put the whole schedule on the Calendar page. A couple of highlights (for me) are
Dr. Valeri Vasioukhin, PhD, Cell Polarity in Self-Renewal and Differentiation of Stem/Progenitor Cells on April 7th and on April 18th Stem Cells and Early Lineage Development given by Janet Rossant, PhD. from the Hospital for Sick Children of Toronto.

There is also a very interesting looking retreat to Gettysburg on April 10th & 11th called the Cancer And Inflammation Program Workshop. Looks like a very comprehensive and interesting agenda, but not sure if I’ll be able to sneak out for two days.

City Steps up Bioremediation of Algae in Carroll Creek

We have all waited with great anticipation for the development of the Carroll Creek Promenade through downtown. As many of you know, seasonal flooding of Carroll Creek has prevented development of the of area historically. Back in the late 70’s, after flooding of a good portion of downtown following hurricane Agnes in 1972, the idea of a flood control project (with associated retail development) was born. The past few years have seen the project come to fruition, with new Condos popping up and restaurants like La Paz, the Green Turtle and Hinode all drawing attention.

One problem became obvious in the middle of last summer season: the flow in the creek was so slow that algae soon overtook the scenic waterway, rendering it a sludgy, slimy, smelly green cesspool. A process we biologists refer to as eutrophication. This is a bit of a misnomer and has always fascinated me with respect to etymology. From the Greek eutrophos, well-nourished : eu-, meaning “good” and trephein, to nourish. But from a practical stand point, this really comes to mean making waters rich in mineral and organic nutrients that promote a proliferation of plant life, especially algae, which reduces the dissolved oxygen content and often causes the extinction of other organisms.

I was interested to read in the Gazette yesterday that the City has contracted a firm, Bioverse, of Minnesota, to take action against our beloved slime. They will install a number of AquaSpherePRO devices, which are spheres of beneficial bacteria and enzymes: a Probiotic prescription, of sorts.

We hope that the combination of the Bioremediation and improved water flow (which increases to dissolved oxygen and inhibits algae formation) will work and we can walk along the creek this summer unencumbered by the stench that is biology.

Tech Awards wrap-up

The Tech Awards last night was a pretty good time. Aside from running into a few people I hadn’t seen in a number of years, I also met a few new people. It’s all about Networking. I was hoping to post a few pictures, but will have to see what I’ve got. I forgot to grab my camera from the house when I left in the morning and made a quick dash into the house over lunch. I ran in the back door, grabbed the camera off the PC in my daughter’s room and right out the front door. Apparently, I left the back gate open and the slider into the back porch open a bit, too. When my wife got home from work she thought someone had broken in. I was just worried about waking up the dogs, because they would have wanted to got outside and get some attention. I didn’t realize until I got to Lynfield and took the camera out that the battery was critically low. Such are the hazards of teenage daughters. I forgot to plug it in last night, so the battery was still drained this morning and I couldn’t download the few pictures I took.

But this is supposed to be a post about the event and not a litany of lame excuses of why I didn’t post any pictures.

I learned that I am a poor prognosticator. The only award winner I guessed correctly was Akonni (Small business of the Year). I was pretty sure about that one, as they’ve made all the right moves. They have a fascinating product, with both military and health care uses, they’ve run the gamut of the various funding organizations and moved into the downtown historic district along Carrol Creek. Plus, they’re growing and hiring people and the new facility is really great.

And so the battle of Frederick last night was won by the IT guys, as both of the other winners were IT companies.

Firm of the year went to Regent Education Incorporated . According to Rick Harris, Executive Director of the Tech Alliance of the Tech Council of Maryland: “This company has revolutionized the way financial aid is analyzed and dispersed in the United States. It has seen growth by more than 300 percent, which is phenomenal, by any standard and their products are truly breakthrough technology. Regent is a model for how to start and grow a business to meet a need.”

Mike Gaver with GTI Federal took the Executive of the Year award. To be honest with you, I am not really sure about the “product” they provide, but can see from their web site that they have contracts with the General Services Administration (GSA), U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC), the State of Maryland, DHS, DOE, Navy, the State Department and the NIH to name a few.

There was a final award give to SAIC-Frederick, Inc.. This was the Technology Leadership Award. A lot of times people forget how big and important SAIC really is to Fort Detrick and the county’s biotech community. For example, here are all of their job openings in Frederick:

At Fort Detrick

Geoffrey Way Vaccine Production Facility

Clinical Monitoring Program on Industry Lane

TJ Drive contracts and Admin

Advanced Technology Program on Toll House

Must run.  Maybe some pictures later..

Tech Awards Tonight

Tonight, the Tech Council of Maryland is sponsoring the 6th Annual Tech awards at the Lynfield event complex on Hansonville Rd. I will be attending and sitting at the FITCI table.

This years finalists are:

Executive of the Year:

• Michael Dailey, FITCI
• Mark Gaver, GTI Federal
• Chris Hagenbuch, safeTspace

Firm of the Year:
• Regent Education Incorporated
• Orases
• Integrated BioTherapeutics Inc.

Small Business of the Year:
• Biological Mimetics, Inc.
• Akonni Biosystems Inc.
• Imagilin Technology, LLC

I am obviously biased towards the Biotech groups in the fold, so I offer these predictions. I can assure you I have no insider information:

Exec. of the Year: Mike Dailey

Firm of the Year: Orases (I know nothing about them but they have a great web site. I think IBT will win something next year, but haven’t made enough of a splash this year, IMHO)

Small Business of the Year: Akonni

I’ll give the lowdown on the “best night of networking” tomorrow.

More News on Md Stem Cell Funding

Just a quick follow-up on Jason Balog’s FNP article last week. I’ve seen a couple different angles on the same story I wanted to report on since I know you’re all on the edge of you seats. Really, I’m just looking for any excuse not to do the real work I am commissioned for at the moment, writing Preventive Maintenance SOPs.

This from the Daily Women’s Health Policy Report:

Maryland House Approves FY 2009 Budget That Reduces Stem Cell Research Funding
[March 21, 2008]

The Maryland House of Delegates on Wednesday voted 105-34 to approve a fiscal year 2009 budget that reduces funding for the state’s stem cell research program to $15 million, the Washington Post reports. According to the Post, Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) allocated $23 million for the program in his budget proposal. The Senate last week approved its FY 2009 budget that reduces funding for the program to $5 million, the Post reports (Wagner, Washington Post, 3/21).

During debate over the budget, the House rejected two amendments proposed by House Minority Leader Anthony O’Donnell (R) and Del. Tony McConkey (R) that would have eliminated even more funding for the stem cell research program. McConkey argued that the Maryland Technology Development Corporation, which administers the grants, has been slow in distributing two previous rounds of funding provided by the Legislature (Wagner, Washington Post, 3/20). “I think this is a reasonable amendment given our fiscal situation,” McConkey said.

Del. John Bohanan (D) said eliminating all the funding could wipe out the stem cell program. “One year of hiatus causes enough disruption to this program that we may as well opt out of it and not fund it ever again,” Bohanan said (Witte, AP/Washington Times, 3/20). It is important that the state maintain its commitment to stem cell research given federal funding restrictions, Bohanan said. He added, “This is an important program that we’ve just begun” (Washington Post, 3/20).

I heard last year that a number of people who had been funded are really getting annoyed at TEDCO, because they haven’t received monies they were granted (presumably in 4Q 2007 funds were supposed to be available). Now it is apparent that one of the main reasons funding is being cut is because TEDCO hasn’t paid out the funds already authorized. There is some perception that they have $20MM sitting around in a check book somewhere. I am not certain how the speding authozation process takes place, but I’m pretty sure this is not the case.

On 15 March, the Baltimore Sun reports:

First among them is the House’s move to fund the state’s embryonic stem cell research grant program at $15 million – an $8 million cut – compared with the Senate’s efforts to bring that funding down to $5 million.

The disagreement centers on the fact that of the $38 million appropriated to the program in the two years since the General Assembly agreed to fund stem cell research, only $7.1 million has been spent, with $8 million more committed.

Some Republicans have called for cutting the entire $23 million O’Malley proposed.

In yesterday’s House hearing, Del. John L. Bohanan Jr., a St. Mary’s County Democrat, asked fellow members of the Appropriations Committee to vote down an amendment proposed by Del. Gail H. Bates, a Howard County Republican, who sought to cut all the money this year.

“No matter how you slice it, it is a major hiccup for this developing industry,” he said. “If you do that, it would send a bad signal to researchers.”

“I’m suggesting this is the time to hiccup,” Bates said, noting the economic downturn. The committee voted against Bates’ amendment and several other GOP efforts to impose more cuts. Bates and Del. Susan L.M. Aumann, a Baltimore County Republican, said more reductions were necessary to prepare for the possibility that the economy will get worse.

This quote just boils my blood! It is NOT AN EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH FUND!!! Only a small amount of the initial fund went to anyone doing Embryonic stem cell research. By the way, this research would still have to follow federal guidelines, using approved ES lines, lest the researchers be disqualified from receiving any funding from the NIH.

So, in a strange twist of fate, the problem hinges on the fact TEDCO can’t spend money fast enough.

Stem Cells and the Butz Brothers

A couple of interesting things in the FNP Business section today. I heard before that the Maryland Stem Cell Commission has not been paying out the funds granted in 2007 and this has put funding for 2008 in extreme jeopardy. Add to that the (perceived) down-turn in the economy,and now additional funds are on the chopping block.

This from Jason Balog’s Biotech article in today’s FNP:

Within the past few weeks the senate’s Health, Education and Human Resources subcommittee has reduced the amount of funding in the governor’s proposed budget from $23 million to $5 million.

Also duly noted:

Maryland has repeatedly announced its desire to be a leader of the life sciences industry and has demonstrated its commitment to stem cell research. However, without a dedicated funding source, it is likely that the Stem Cell Research Fund will be depleted in the future when the state is in need of funds. This is a situation that must be addressed if Maryland hopes to be a leader in the industry. As previously mentioned, Maryland is not the only state that has committed to stem cell research. While most states have made a modest investment similar to Maryland’s, California, Massachusetts and New York have raised the stakes by announcing 10 year commitments of $3 billion, $1 billion and $500 million, respectively. California went so far as to fund its research through the sale of bonds. It is this type of commitment that is necessary to grow an industry.

I am not at all surprised.

On the brighter side, this picture reminds me that I need to get the next BioBeers organized:

As you may know , aside from isolating stem cells from afterbirth, I also do Biodiesel testing through Advanced Product Enterprises Biodiesel. I am glad to help Chesapeake Green Fuels move their process along. We met about a year ago at an event in Rockville,struck up a conversation about the problems they were having getting quality, timely test results, made a few phone calls to our friends at PerkinElmer and FITCI and by October 2007 we were in he Biodiesel testing business. I know that Jeremey has promised to attend the next BioBeers as well as Jason Balog and George Cox at Miles Stockbridge, whom I have met on several occasions.

I also received an invitation from the guys at Flying Dog to host the next one at the Brewery on Wedgewood, so it’s about time I get off my but and get this thing going.

***3/24  CLARIFICATION:   The picture shows the Butz brother hoisting ball jars of Biodiesel & Chicken fat.  I just though it looked like it may be beer and that made my thoughts wander to the next BioBeers event!  Although Biodiesel is non-hazardous and can be consumed by humans, this activity is neither suggested nor endorsed by the author.  Instead, why not enjoy an ice cold Gonzo Imperial Porter?

DNA vaccine delivery program at NCI

I was reading an interesting bit this morning about a collaboration between scientists at NCI-Ft Detrick and Inovio Biomedical Corp. of San Diego, CA. The program, initiated in July 2007, is being conducted under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) and will assess novel HIV constructs in non-human primates, cytokine genes as vaccine adjuvants (immune system stimulants), and possibly anticancer therapies delivered using Inovio’s electroporation-mediated DNA delivery technology. The work is being performed in collaboration with Drs. George Pavlakis and Barbara Felber at the Fort.

The method of electroporation is a “needle-less” vaccine, introducing the vaccine via electronic pulses through the skin or soft tissue. There are some analogies for BioElectronics mechanisms, as well as standard electroporation methods used in recombinant DNA technology like electro-competent cells.
Here’s a little more from Inovio’s web site:

In all of these applications, the purpose of electroporation is to assist the uptake of useful molecules such as DNA vaccine into a cell. The biological material is first injected into or applied to the surface of the target tissue and followed by the application of brief, controlled electrical pulses directed to that tissue. As shown in the pictures below, electroporation’s millisecond electrical pulses temporarily create enhanced permeability of pores in the cell membrane. After a short period of time the pores reseal, leaving the cells undamaged. During the period that these pores exist, a significant quantity of the previously injected biomolecules are taken up and then trapped in the cell, enabling them to then perform their intended function.

How does the electroporation process work?

The following illustration depicts the process of administering a DNA vaccine using electroporation:

Inovio’s electroporation technology can increase the cellular uptake (also termed transfection) of an agent by 1,000 times or more. When used to deliver DNA vaccines, Inovio’s systems can increase levels of gene expression (i.e. production of the coded protein) by 100 times or more compared to plasmid DNA delivered without other delivery enhancements.

What results have been achieved using electroporation-based DNA delivery?

Learn about Inovio’s DNA delivery systems.

AFCEA Frederick Luncheon Tomorrow

For those of you not in the know, tomorrow (the 3rd Tuesday of every month) is the monthly AFCEA luncheon at Dutch’s Daughter.  The featured speaker tomorrow is David W. Williams, of HQ US Army Medical Research & Material Command.  If you need to sell something to the Fort (in other words, if have have some goods or service to peddle), then he’s a good guy to know.

The web site has a new face and more content to come soon.   Hopefully, they’ll get some of the previous presentations posted, which were very informative.

AFCEA is the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association.  AFCEA is a non-profit international association, which serves as a bridge between government requirements and industry capabilities. The association and its members are dedicated to supporting global security by providing an ethical environment that encourages a close cooperative relationship among civil government agencies, the military and industry worldwide. Since so much of what happens at our Fort is related to Homeland Security and Biological devices, the Frederick Chapter is focused on the Biotech sector and how it can most effectively interact with the various Unihts in Ft. Detrick.

Come on out tomorrow.  Space has been filling up quickly.

Genome Projector

I ran across this neat little tool called the Genome Projector via My BioTech Life. It’s a Google Maps based graphics program which contains 320 bacterial genomes and gives you a zoomable view of circular DNA sequences, pathways and a DNA walk. It’s pretty cool and I’ll link it in the Gene Jockey section later. Why don’t you give it a try?

Seminars at the Fort this month

I almost forgot to post the Seminar Series at Ft Detrick this month. There isn’t a lot on this list for me, but perhaps some of you may be interested. This series is open to the public, although primarily attended by people at NCI.

Bring a passport or other Fed Gov issued photo ID (your Md Drivers license will do) if you plan to get past the guards armed with M16’s at the gate without a cavity search

Monday, March 10, 2008
2:00:00 PM	Dr. Jackie Bromberg	Bldg 549 Auditorium
	Jak/Stat3 Signaling and Tumorigenesis	Details Series
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
8:00:00 AM	Carl Wu, PhD	Bldg 549 Conf. Rm B
	Chromatin Architecture of Chromosome Centromere in Budding Yeast	Details Series
10:00:00 AM	Dennis Drayna	Bldg 549 Auditorium
	Strategies for Disease Gene Identification	Details Series
1:30:00 PM		Bldg 426 Conf. Rm
	X-ray Crystal Structure of Scytovirin: A Lectin with Antiviral Activity Speaker: Tinoush Moulaei, MCL Targeted Mutations of Bovine alph 1, 3 galactosyltransferase (a1,, 3 FalT) that change its Sugar Donor Specificity: Applications in Nanobiology Speaker: Marta Pasek, CCR, Nanobiology Program	Details Series
2:00:00 PM		Bldg 549 Conf. Rm A
	POSTER TITLE: The Molecular Structure of the Interface of the DA Receptor Containing Heteromers-AUTHORS: Shelley N. Jackson and Amina S Woods, NIDA, NIH SEMINAR TITLE: Modeling of PNA-DNA Non-Covalent Complexes-SPEAKER: Alice Delvolve, NIDA, NIH	Details Series
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
12:00:00 PM	Grace Yeh	Bldg 549 Auditorium
	Modulation of Carcinogen Activation and Detoxification by Novel NO-and Dithiolethione-NSAIDs	Details Series
3:30:00 PM	Dr. Tim Harkins	Bldg 549 Auditorium
	Whole Genome Sequencing to Somatic Mutation Detection: Recent Scientific Breakthroughs using the Genome Sequencer FLX	Details Series
3:30:00 PM	Dr. Tim Harkins	Bldg 549 Auditorium
	Whole Genome Sequencing to Somatic mutation Detection: Recent Scientific Breakthroughs using the Genome Sequencer FLX	Details Series
Friday, March 14, 2008
10:00:00 AM	Dr. Kenan Murphpy	Bldg 539 Library
	The lambda Red Recombination System – Mutational and Biochemical Analyses	Details
12:00:00 PM	Dr. Gene Shearer	Bldg 549 Auditorium
	HIV-1 Immunopathogenesis: Hijacking Immune Regulatory Mechanisms	Details Series
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
8:00:00 AM	Stephen J. Elledge, PhD	Bldg 549 Conf. Rm B
	Adventures in Mammalian Genetics	Details Series
10:00:00 AM	Lynn Jorde	Bldg 549 Auditorium
	Introduction to Population Genetics	Details Series
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
12:00:00 PM	Ana Gamero	Bldg 549 Auditorium
	Understanding the Role of STAT2 in Apoptosis, Cancer, and Inflammation	Details Series
Friday, March 21, 2008
12:00:00 PM	Dr. Stephan R. Targan	Bldg 426 Conf. Rm
	Central Role for TL1A (TNSF15)in Chronic Mucosal Inflammation: A New Target for Treatment of Crohn’s Disease	Details Series
3:00:00 PM	Terry R. Magnuson, PhD	Bldg 549 Auditorium
	X Inactivation: Existing Without Xist	Details Series
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
8:00:00 AM	Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD	Bldg 549 Conf. Rm B
	The Cancer Genome Atlas Project	Details Series
10:00:00 AM	Elaine Ostrander	Bldg 549 Auditorium
	Linkage Analysis and Complex Traits	Details Series
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
9:00:00 AM	Robert Fisher	Bldg 549 Auditorium
	SPR Arrays are Here to Stay	Details Series
12:00:00 PM	Art Friedlander	Bldg 549 Auditorium
	The Yin and Yang of the Anthrax Capsule: Role in Pathogenesis and Target for Vaccines and Therapeutics	Details Series