Letter from the Director

Dr. Olaf Schneewind

In the fall of 2001, bioterrorism became a reality to the United States. Anthrax spores were dispersed through the U.S. Postal Service, causing death in nearly half of the infected individuals and a decontamination effort that required more than a year to complete. In 2003, an epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) swept 29 countries, left nearly 800 people dead and paralyzed the Asian economy. Fortunately, aggressive quarantine measures effectively contained the epidemic, thereby allowing us time to plan for the future in combating infectious diseases. These events demonstrated our vulnerability to infectious diseases, both those that can be dispersed intentionally as well as those that are acquired through natural infections and epidemics of emerging infectious disease.

"Not only do we desperately need to expand our repertoire of therapies to infectious diseases, but we must also enable the scientific community to respond rapidly and efficiently to an ever changing pool of microbial pathogens."

In response to this necessity the federal government created a strategic plan for biodefense and emerging infectious disease research, resulting in the establishment of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Regional Centers of Excellence in Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Disease Research Program (RCEs). The Region V Great Lakes Regional Center of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases Research ("GLRCE") is one of ten regional centers and is led by the University of Chicago. Twenty seven top research institutions in the Great Lakes region participate in this consortium with a mission to foster and sustain a productive research environment in which academic divisions overlap in their interests, interrelate and thrive on collaboration.

"Our activities will stimulate and support scientific discovery and its applications, thereby achieving effective measures to prevent, detect, moderate, or treat infectious diseases."

To meet this challenge, the GLRCE supports the development and use of state-of-the-art technologies through common shared core facilities, and also maintains a collaborative research environment so that members and their colleagues can work together with ease and flexibility. Our current focus is on bacterial and viral agents considered to have great potential for use in a bioterror attack in order to rapidly produce therapies to combat these infections. GLRCE research interfaces with the medical community through our Emergency Response Component which serves as a regional resource to assist public healthcare providers to respond in the event of an emergency. In addition, the Emergency Response Component provides education to the first responders and communication of RCE research to the general medical community. The Great Lakes RCE also maintains a strong partnership with the pharmaceutical industry. Relations with our Board of Industrial Partners help to assure that the next generation of therapeutics, vaccines and diagnostics are made available to the public in a timely and safe manner.

On this website, you will find information about the Great Lakes RCE research program and accomplishments. In addition, you will find links to other RCEs in the national network as well as the NIAID to gain an overall view of this research initiative. This website also provides information about the pathology of specific microbial infections and links to resources for emergency and preparedness information.

We look forward to working with you, the community and the scientists in our region in providing research tools and development, laboratory infrastructure, education and protection from infectious diseases.

Sincerely yours,
Olaf Schneewind, MD, PhD
Director, Great Lakes Regional Center of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases Research University of Chicago