March 28, 2017

Public Health & Healthcare Preparedness
NEWS
Trump Recruits Controversial Bush-Era Global Health Official.
 
William "Bill" Steiger, a global health official under former President George W. Bush who crossed swords with many scientists, is now advising President Donald Trump. At his Senate nomination hearing in 2007, Steiger was questioned about allegations that he suppressed a surgeon general's report because it conflicted with Bush administration policies on public health, and also imposed travel restrictions on HHS scientists that forced them to withdraw accepted presentations at an international AIDS conference.  (Science, 3/27/17)
 
NOTICE
Multi-Agency Informational Meeting Concerning Compliance With the Federal Select Agent Program; Public Webcast.
 
The HHS/CDC's Division of Select Agents and Toxins (DSAT) and the US Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Agriculture Select Agent Services (AgSAS) are jointly charged with the regulation of the possession, use and transfer of biological agents and toxins that have the potential to pose a severe threat to public, animal or plant health or to animal or plant products (select agents and toxins). This joint effort constitutes the Federal Select Agent Program. The purpose of the webcast is to provide guidance and information related to the Federal Select Agent Program for interested individuals.  (Federal Register, 3/27/17)
 
NOTICE
Effect of Stockpiling Conditions on the Performance of Medical N95 Respirators and High-Level Protective Surgical Gowns.
 
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announces the request for information about facilities that stockpile N95 respirators and high-level protective surgical gowns.  (Federal Register, 3/24/17)
 
REPORT
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
 
Often called "the voice of CDC," the MMWR  series is the agency's primary vehicle for scientific publication of timely, reliable, authoritative, accurate, objective, and useful public health information and recommendations.  (CDC, 3/24/17)
PRESS RELEASE
USDA Announces Eradication of New World Screwworm in Florida.
 
Animal health checkpoints, or interdiction stations, were closed on Saturday. The last sterile fly releases in Homestead, FL took place on Tuesday and fly releases are scheduled to end on April 25 in the Florida Keys.  (USDA, 3/23/17)
 
FUNDING OPPORTUNITY
Continuing Enhanced National Surveillance for Prion Diseases in the United States.
 
The Centers for Disease control and Prevention (CDC) announces the availability of fiscal year (FY) 2017 funds for a cooperative agreement program to continue enhanced national surveillance for prion diseases in the United States. The purpose of the funding is to continue an active surveillance program to monitor the occurrence of potentially emerging human TSEs in the United States.  (Grants.gov, 3/22/17)
 
STATEMENT
World TB Day Statement.
 
Dr. Rebecca Martin, Director of CDC's Center for Global Health, has provided a statement that reflects on the global burden of TB and what is needed to eradicate this deadly disease. Read more about how CDC is fighting global TB to help ensure a safer America and a safer world.  (AIDS.gov, 3/22/17)


NEWS
When the US Funds Global Health, Other Countries Do Too.
 
In President Trump's proposed budget, there's a $54 billion bump in military spending. US foreign aid would be cut by 28 percent. Global health spending beyond AIDS, malaria and vaccines will suffer. This type of foreign aid, according to many U. policymakers and military leaders, increases soft power, or the global influence the United States has because it supports basic human rights and humanitarian causes.  (Washington Post, 3/21/17)


BLOG
The Consequences of Contaminated Water.
 
Cholera persists in Haiti primarily because many people lack access to clean water and proper sanitation. CDC continues to work with partners to improve access to safe water, such as increasing the number of homes who treat household water with chlorine.  (CDC, 3/21/17)
 

GUIDANCE
Partner Presentations and Conference Calls About Zika.
 
CDC has made available numerous resources on Zika prevention, diagnosis, mitigation, and response. (CDC, 3/20/17)

 

BLOG
CDC and AAPCC Act Fast to Track, Investigate, and Report on Outbreaks of Poisoning and Emerging Environmental Health Threats.
 
Did you know CDC works with poison centers to protect the nation from public health threats? Roughly every 8 minutes, call data from poison centers across the country are uploaded into a national reporting database called the National Poison Data System.  (CDC, 3/20/17)
 
NEWS
The Tiny Trump Budget Cut That Could Blind America to the Next Zika.
 
Consider the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity (ELC) program. It's a little-known, unglamorous, and modest fund. But it's also vital for America's ability to respond to infectious diseases, and especially to unforeseen emergencies like Ebola, Zika, or whatever else is coming next.  (The Atlantic, 3/18/17)
 
INTERVIEW
Q&A With Tony Fauci on the State of Pandemic Security.
 
Devex spoke to Fauci about what NIAID is doing -- and what global health organizations need to do -- to better prepare governments and health systems for those inevitable, unpredictable threats.  (Devex, 3/16/17)
 
NEWS
As DARPA Preps for a Pandemic, it Has a New Enemy in Trump.
 M
att Hepburn thinks about global pandemics a lot. As the program manager behind DARPA's new Pandemic Prevention Platform, when he looks at the way the world responded to Zika, the H1N1 flu, and the recent Ebola outbreak, he sees room for improvement.  (Inverse, 3/13/17)
 
FUNDING OPPORTUNITY
APHL-CDC Continue Partnership to Strengthen Public Health Labs Internationally.
 
The Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are continuing a jointly sponsored cooperative agreement program to help strengthen public health laboratories across the globe.  (Global Biodefense, 3/12/17)

 
RESEARCH
The US Emergency Care Coordination Center.
 Researchers at the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response describe the federal government's complex role in the delivery of emergency care in the United States. 
Although emergency care is delivered within the Department of Veterans Affairs, Indian Health Service, and Department of Defense, primarily for eligible beneficiaries, the majority of it is delivered in the private sector rather than as part of a federal program.  (Annals of Emergency Medicine, 3/17)
 

Homeland Security & Disaster Preparedness
NEWS
Why DARPA Funded a Farm Tech Startup.
 
"One of the things we've seen is that regional unrest has been linked to circumstances that seem detached from national security -- like the price of bread," says Joseph Evans, a program manager in DARPA's strategic technology office. "If we can get more accurate tools to predict famine, we can head off these types of situations with humanitarian versus military intervention."  (Fortune, 3/23/17)
 
NEWS
The White House Calls Climate Change Research a "Waste." Actually, it's Required by Law.
 
Despite White House budget director Mick Mulvaney's assertion Friday that studying climate change is a "waste of your money," federal scientists are required, by a 1990 law, to do just that - and are carrying on for now, even under the cloud of budgetary uncertainty created by the Trump administration.  (The Washington Post, 3/21/17)
 
NEWS
DoD Officials Discuss Countering WMD, Threats Posed by Synthetic Biology.
 
Senior defense officials detailed before a House panel today Defense Department programs for countering traditional weapons of mass destruction and its plans for countering a new threat posed by the adversarial use of synthetic biology tools.  (Department of Defense, 3/23/17)



Science & Technology Policy
PRESS RELEASE
Turning to Chemistry for New "Computing" Concepts.
 
As the complexity and volume of global digital data grows, so too does the need for more capable and compact means of processing and storing data. To address this challenge, DARPA has announced its Molecular Informatics program, which seeks a new paradigm for data storage, retrieval, and processing.  (DARPA, 3/23/17)
 
NEWS
IARPA Leader Rethinks How to Get the Biggest Bang for Research Funds.
 
"We're very interested in the science of science," Jason Matheny, Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity director, said at a Government Analytics Breakfast event in Washington on Wednesday. He asked audience members for help understanding how investments into areas such as high-performance computing, machine learning and other fields have on technological and economic growth rates.  (IARPA, 3/22/17)
 
COMMENTARY
Bedside Back to Bench: Building Bridges Between Basic and Clinical Genomic Research.
 
Genome sequencing has revolutionized the diagnosis of genetic diseases. Close collaborations between basic scientists and clinical genomicists are now needed to link genetic variants with disease causation. To facilitate such collaborations, researchers at the National Human Genome Research Institute recommend prioritizing clinically relevant genes for functional studies, developing reference variant-phenotype databases, adopting phenotype description standards, and promoting data sharing.  (Cell, 3/20/17)
 
This Week's Hearings

Subcommittee Hearing to Examine the Cybersecurity Threats to the US Electric Grid and Technology Advancements to Minimize Such Threats and to Receive Testimony on S.79, the Securing Energy Infrastructure Act. US Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Energy. 3/28/17, 2:15 PM. Dirksen 366. More

 

Realizing Nationwide Next-Generation 911. US House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. 3/29/17, 10 AM. Rayburn 2123. More

 

Climate Science: Assumptions, Policy Implications, and the Scientific Method. US House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. 3/29/17, 10 AM, Rayburn 2318. More

 

Threats to Space Assets and Implications for Homeland Security. US House Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittees on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications; First Responder Communications; Infrastructure Protection; Science, Technology, Research and Development. 3/29/17, 2 PM. House Capitol Visitor Center 210. More

 


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