Update: UAB's Biosafety Research Structure

UAB has an impressive track record of growth over the past 20 years, with funded research exceeding $300 million. In 2001, Biomedical I (Bevill Building) came on line, and Biomedical II ("Baby Bevill") currently resides at 19th Street and 9th Avenue South. Now, the university's extending its research corridor along 19th Street with construction of the Southeast Biosafety Laboratory Alabama Birmingham (SEBLAB). UAB will demolish two buildings on the 9th Avenue/19th Street site to undertake the nearly 35,000 gross-square-foot facility. Work is scheduled to begin at the end of this year, with completion anticipated in late 2007 at a cost of $22,275,000.

In September 2003, UAB received a nearly $16 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to aid in construction of the research facility, used to help develop the next generation of vaccines, drugs, and diagnostic tests for emerging infections, such as SARS and West Nile, and for defense against organisms, such as pox viruses, that might be used in bioterrorist attacks.

Regional Resource

"Our new facility will be a regional resource for researchers throughout the Southeast investigating the worst, most dangerous diseases and biological agents," UAB Vice President for Research Richard Marchase, PhD, says. "UAB has a longstanding international reputation in virology, bacterial pathogenesis, and immunology. This facility will enable UAB to continue to work on diseases that affect the people of Alabama and beyond."

Following 9/11 and the subsequent anthrax cases, as well as the spread of West Nile virus and SARS, a scientific panel determined that the nation needed additional laboratories specifically designed to conduct research into such lethal types of agents. UAB received 1 of the initial 11 grants. In addition to federal funding, the state has committed $5 million to the construction, and UAB will provide nearly $1.4 million.

The facility is known as a Biosafety Level-3 (BSL-3) Laboratory. Laboratories that handle infectious agents are rated on four levels. BSL-1 laboratories handle agents considered harmless; BSL-4 labs handle agents considered extremely dangerous and life-threatening. While the agents handled in BSL-3 labs can cause serious or potentially lethal diseases, effective treatment or immunizations exist. UAB and its affiliate Southern Research Institute already operate BSL-3 laboratories; their safety record has been flawless.

Research projects planned for the new facility include investigation into new vaccines for pox viruses, botulism, and anthrax. Investigators also will explore the mechanisms by which these and other organisms function, with the goal of developing methods to disrupt their life cycle, creating new treatments. Other projects will investigate West Nile virus, Dengue Fever, tularemia, Rift Valley Fever, and Eastern Equine Encephalitis.

During the past 2 years, UAB researchers received significant grants to continue investigations into major infectious diseases. The university is leading a 35-site study to evaluate effectiveness of a potential new treatment for West Nile virus. This is part of a 7-year, $31 million grant awarded to UAB to support ongoing research activities of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases' (NIAID) Collaborative Antiviral Study Group. Also, UAB has been awarded a 4.5-year, $16 million NIAID grant to lead a multicenter study to develop and test a potential new class of HIV vaccines.