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Microbiology

  • Detects food borne pathogens (naturally occurring or terroristic)

  • Understands the processes and pathways of microbial resistance

  • Understands how microflora in the gastrointestinal tract alter the effects of chemical and other microbial exposures

  • Develops microbes to clean up toxic spills in the environment

  • Develops models using microbes to predict the way that drugs will be metabolized (broken down and used or excreted) by mammals

 

Chemistry

  • Assures the chemical purity of other work throughout NCTR

  • In the area of counter terrorism, develops, validates, and applies methods using mass spectroscopy for the rapid and inexpensive identification of pathogens

  • Develops computer aided patter recognition methods to distinguish between hoax and real terrorist acts

  • Utilizes nanotechnology for developing cancer therapies

  • Utilizes nanotechnology for developing screens to detect bomb components

  • Develops sensor technologies for food freshness

Risk Assessment and Statistics

  • Assesses human risks based on all known research

  • Develops new models to assess risk

Toxicoinfomatics and Computational Models

  • Utilizes the latest computer technology to predict toxicity and biological action based on chemical structure

  • Utilizes artificial intelligence based neural net computer technologies to find significant information about chemical and biological action that may not be seen with conventional methods of analysis

  • Develops large databases (available on-line) to handle massive data arising from new technologies.

Genomics

  • Structural Genomics

    • Detects genetic differences among individuals and assesses the impact these differences have in the reaction to drugs and the development of disease

    • Develops means of determining individual susceptibility to prostate, breast, and colorectal cancer

  • Functional Genomics

    • Detects changes in the functioning of genes following exposures to chemicals or biologicals

    • Prints microarrays for lab animal and human studies

    • Meets with other researchers to help design techniques to answer questions rapidly

  • Developmental Genomics

    • Utilizes microarray technology to identify the presence of microorganisms for food protection and identifying terroristic events

Metabolomics

  • Develops indicators of toxicity and disease that heretofore have not been recognized or identified

  • Utilizes highly sophisticated technologies of nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry to analyze the chemical and biological pathway through the body

  • Focuses on how these pathways affect the liver, kidneys, and heart

  • Utilizes these technologies to compare toxicities across species to better understand how laboratory animals may or may not predict human toxicities

Proteomics

  • Utilizes mass spectrometry to analyze proteins

    • In tissues of animals exposed to chemicals or pharmaceuticals

    • To identify the virulence of microorganisms

    • Collaborates with the pharmaceutical industry and academicians to develop new markers of adverse effects

 

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