Welcome to Galveston National Laboratory
Within this state-of-the-art facility, an extraordinary group of scientists are engaged in efforts to translate research ideas into products aimed at controlling emerging infectious diseases and defending our society against bioterrorism. The GNL has been designed to serve as a national resource, and will complement and enhance UTMB's decades of prominence in biomedical research - as well as provide a world renowned resource for training researchers in infectious diseases.
As one of two National Biocontainment Laboratories constructed with funding awarded in October 2003 by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/National Institutes of Health (NIAID/NIH), the GNL provides much needed research space and specialized research capabilities to develop therapies, vaccines, and diagnostic tests for naturally occurring emerging diseases such as SARS, West Nile encephalitis and avian influenza – as well as for microbes that might be employed by terrorists. Products likely to emerge from research and investigations within the GNL include novel diagnostic assays, improved therapeutics and treatment models, and preventative measures such as vaccines.
Swine Flu Update
"Dual Use" Research: A Dialogue
Some scientific and technological advances that provide great benefits to society can also be used maliciously. An issue garnering increased attention is the potential for life sciences research intended to enhance scientific understanding and public health to generate results that could potentially be misused to threaten public health or other aspects of national security. Such research has been called "dual-use" research.
As federal authorities, working in conjunction with scientists at labs like the GNL, look to advance practices and policies designed to minimize the risks that could result from malevolent use of information from legitimate research and inform the development of oversight guidelines, a new educational video produced by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) explores the topic of "dual use" research.