PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATIONS

Medical Countermeasures against Radiological and Nuclear Threats Program

http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/research/topics/radnuc

Contact:

Richard Hatchett, M.D.
301-496-1886, hatchettr@niaid.nih.gov

Weaponized radiation has become an uncomfortable reality in the post-9/11 world. Potential threats include radiological “dirty bombs” and nuclear explosives. Very few medical products exist to counter the variety of acute and long-term injuries that could result from nuclear or radiological attacks. To respond, the U.S. Government, through the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), has established a research program called Medical Countermeasures against Radiological and Nuclear Threats. The program is developing diagnostics, preventatives, and treatments for radiation sickness following a radiological event. RRP is the predominant NCI presence in this program because of its active radiation oncology program and extensive clinical expertise in radiobiology. In addition, several RRP senior members participated in the program’s design.

Under this initiative, RRP is collaborating with NIAID, the lead institute at NIH for the development of biodefense countermeasures. NIAID’s research portfolio includes many in-depth studies of the immune system, which is especially vulnerable to radiation.

Central to this effort is the establishment of a network of multidisciplinary extramural Centers for Medical Countermeasures against Radiation (CMCRs) charged with developing new technologies to counter the injuries from a radiological event and facilitate interactions with regulatory and public health organizations. This is the first federal-civilian research program dedicated to the development of medical countermeasures to be used by civilians in the event of exposure to radiation. The spin-off for normal tissue injury from cancer treatment is obvious and makes this investment an excellent use of the new federal dollars.