CAAT Information Day: New Approaches to Assessing Countermeasures to Bioterrorism Agents

Late in 2011, the National Research Council published a report on Animal Models for Assessing Countermeasures to Bioterrorism Agents. The report summarized the status of current animal models to assess the efficacy of medical countermeasures, pointing out the imperfection of the existing models and the need for human clinical data to help inform the process. In addition, the committee that authored the report recommended that the Department of Defense examine scientific gaps in information needed to utilize alternative methods, identify areas in which current in vitro and in silico methods could be utilized as adjunct methods to animal models to help
improve their usefulness and develop criteria for developing technologies to ultimately replace animal use for these purposes.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing is organizing an information day to examine the state of the art of new technologies to replace animal use as well as those that will modify current animal protocols to increase their efficiency and improve animal welfare.

DRAFT PROGRAM

Thomas Hartung (Johns Hopkins CAAT) – TBA

George Korch (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and HHS Assistant Secretary for
Preparedness Response) (Co-chair of NRC committee) – Summary and Recommendations of the NRC
Report

William C. (Clint) Florence (Defense Threat Reduction Agency – DTRA) – DTRA’s Long-Term Goals
and Visions for Medical Countermeasures and Alternatives to the Use of Animals

Donald Drake (Sanofi-Pasteur) In Vitro Models of the Human Immune System for Evaluating
Bioterrorism Agent Countermeasures

Marti Jett, (US Army Center for Environmental Health Research) TBA

Anthony Bahinski (Wyss Institute, Harvard University) Organs-on-Chips As Potential Alternatives to
Animal Models for Safety and Efficacy Testing

Sonia Grego (RTI International) Fluidic-Enhanced Model of the Human Conducting Airways

Lisa Hensley – (US Food and Drug Administration) TBA

Jennifer Sekowski (US Army) Systems Biology of Host-Toxicant Interactions

Judy Hewitt – (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases- NIAID)

$100 Registration fee (including lunch)
Complimentary Registration for Federal Employees & Johns Hopkins Faculty/Students/Staff
Registration information is available at http://caat.jhsph.edu or contact: mprincip@jhsph.edu

For more information, please visit the Official Event Website.