The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), an institute within the NIH, is hoping to stave off the rise of the mutant zombies in the wake of a nuclear attack. More accurately, they have issue $47M worth of grants to establish centers for medical countermeasures and develop countermeasures products.
“Radiological ‘dirty bombs’ or nuclear explosive devices are among the potential terrorist threats Americans face. Our new medical countermeasures program will help protect the public from radiation should such an attack ever occur,” says NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D.
NIAID is the lead institute at NIH for the development of biodefense countermeasures. Its research portfolio includes many in-depth studies of the immune system, which is especially vulnerable to radiation. For these reasons, the Department of Health and Human Services asked NIAID to coordinate and lead the development of a robust NIH research program on medical countermeasures to radiation.
Funding for this program is from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Public Health Emergency Preparedness. Twelve grants, four contracts and two interagency agreements have recently been formalized through this new NIH research program. While each award has a specific focus connected to product development or basic research, the sum of the efforts covers the necessary components to develop medical countermeasures from concept through licensure.
More from the NIH…