Biomedical Research Lab

When the mosquitos bite, the Biomedical Research Lab bites back

Sarah Holland — Thu, 03 Jul 2025 19:45:51 +0000

When the mosquitos bite, the Biomedical Research Lab bites back Sarah Holland Thu, 07/03/2025 - 15:45

It’s summer, and with those longer days come backyard cookouts, outdoor activities and—ouch!—bug bites. Mosquitoes love Northern Virginia’s infamous hot and humid summers. And as the world’s deadliest animal, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they’re more than just a nuisance at the family barbeque: They’re a health hazard.

Farhang Alem. Photo by Creative Services

But in partnership with Prince William County, �鶹��Ƶ’s Biomedical Research Laboratory (BRL) is working to prevent outbreaks of mosquito-borne diseases.

Since 2016, in response to the Zika virus outbreak, the county and the university partner each year to collect mosquito samples and test them for diseases like West Nile virus.

“West Nile is endemic in the United States, and infections can be lethal,” explained Farhang Alem, MS Biology ’15, PhD Biosciences ’19 , associate director of the BRL. Alem has led the mosquito testing program since 2019.

“Eighty percent of people will have no symptoms,” he said, “but about one in every 150 cases of West Nile is severe.” It’s a neuroinvasive disease, meaning severe cases can damage the nervous system, resulting in high mortality rates and a high likelihood of disability if survived. Even those with non-neuroinvasive West Nile virus, though most likely to make a full recovery, could experience symptoms for weeks or months.

“We want to prevent the spread as much as possible,” Alem said.

Testing season starts in late spring and runs through the fall. Each week, samples are collected at more than 60 sites across Prince William County, and the mosquitoes are sorted by species. Vector species—meaning those that carry disease—are sent to the BRL for testing. Researchers extract RNA from the mosquitos and check for the markers of West Nile virus. They then send their report to county officials. If mosquitoes are positive for West Nile virus, the county will follow their larvicide and adulticide spraying protocols to eliminate the threat at the site where the mosquitoes were trapped.

“It allows us to more precisely target areas before they become a concern for the local community,” said Eli Hosen, environmental project manager for the mosquito and forest pest management branch of Prince William County Department of Public Works. “The lab provides us with a quick turnaround so we can respond as soon as possible.”

The program has been effective, Alem said, in reducing the number of West Nile carriers in the region. "Spraying is definitely working to control the spread."

Alem is in conversation with other counties in Northern Virginia to see if there’s interest in expanding the surveillance program. The BRL is also hoping to learn best practices on mosquito trapping from Prince William County to implement in other areas of research.

George �鶹��Ƶ epidemiologist Amira Roess is looking into the possibility of a similar surveillance program in India for dengue fever, for example. And if deployed, researchers hope what they learn in India can be useful to their research here as well.

With almost 10 years’ worth of data from the ongoing testing, Alem is hoping the lab can one day look at trends in disease occurrence and correlating environmental factors.

“It's leading to new avenues of research for us,” said Alem.

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Amira Roess, PhD, MPH

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George �鶹��Ƶ scientist secures $1.4M DTRA grant to study viruses’ impact on organ health

Colleen Rich — Mon, 14 Oct 2024 16:30:04 +0000

George �鶹��Ƶ scientist secures $1.4M DTRA grant to study viruses’ impact on organ health Colleen Rich Mon, 10/14/2024 - 12:30

�鶹��Ƶ researcher Aarthi Narayanan recently secured a $1.4M grant from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) to investigate how an infection spreads between organs, and how a therapeutic will impact connected organs. The work will initially focus on mosquito-transmitted viruses while Narayanan hopes to expand the implications from these studies to other human disease states.

Aarthi Narayan. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Office of University Branding

The study will utilize the organ on a chip platform—an emerging technology that more closely replicates human organ-based parameters—to understand how disease affects the body. The focus of this multiorgan effort will be to explore the interactions between the brain, the lung, and liver.

“When you look at an infection like West Nile Virus, for example, it affects the brain early. But that does not mean it only impacts the brain,” said Narayanan, a professor in the Department of Biology in the College of Science. “There is often multiorgan involvement in later states of disease, but we still don’t have a full understanding of how one organ reacts to another’s infection to then know how to provide more effective treatments.” This research seeks to better understand to what extent inflammation from one infected organ will affect another organ that is perhaps not infected.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic underscored how diseases affecting specific organs can disseminate throughout the body, leading to multiorgan failure at various states of disease progression. However, developing specific treatments for each emerging virus takes time, and there is an intense push toward finding broadly applicable solutions that may be used to treat different infections. This study will also explore repositioning existing FDA-approved medications as treatment options for several mosquito-transmitted viruses that do not have treatment strategies at this time.

Narayan will utilize CN-Bio’s organ on a chip platform at George �鶹��Ƶ’s Biomedical Research Laboratory to investigate questions that are directly relevant to human disease caused by these mosquito-transmitted viruses.

“This approach will also help us position our therapeutic strategies better and hopefully decrease points of failure down the road, as we strive to come up with rapidly deployable solutions to address the national and global needs for pandemic preparedness,” said Narayanan.

“While technology is expanding in the biomedical field, one of the important differentiators that puts George �鶹��Ƶ and its Biomedical Research Laboratory (BRL) at the forefront of this research venture is our ability to ask these globally impactful questions in high containment settings, specifically biosafety level 3 conditions,” said Cody W. Edwards, George �鶹��Ƶ College of Science interim dean.

Established through the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the George �鶹��Ƶ BRL is one of 12 Regional Biocontainment Laboratories in the United States that offer Biosafety Level-3 (BSL-3) facilities.

The study, “Development of human-based, connected multiorgan microphysiological system in vitro models to study alphavirus infection and support countermeasure development,” will take place over the next five years.

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�鶹��Ƶ Momentum

Catherine Martini is the June Employee of the Month

Sarah Holland — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 18:42:29 +0000

Catherine Martini is the June Employee of the Month Sarah Holland Thu, 06/01/2023 - 14:42

Be compliant, be safe, and be efficient: It’s crucial for laboratories to strike a balance between these three core tenets.

Thanks to the hard work of Catherine Martini, the Biomedical Research Laboratory (BRL) on �鶹��Ƶ's Science and Technology Campus has found the perfect equilibrium.

President Gregory Washington with Employee of the Month Catherine Martini. Photo by Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

Martini, BS Biology ’88, remembers �鶹��Ƶ from her time as a student: “When SUB I was the center of campus, eating pizza at ‘The Rat’ was the in thing, and parking in K lot felt like you were in a different state.”

Since returning to �鶹��Ƶ in 2020 as a biosafety officer, Martini has made marked improvements to the BRL’s culture of compliance, as well as reduced the number of reportable incidents. She has worked diligently with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regulators to rectify identified issues, including stepping into the role of responsible officer of the BRL’s Federal Select Agent Program (SAP), in addition to her other duties. As a result, this year’s CDC inspection was near perfect: a historic best for the BRL.

“Catherine’s team-oriented approach, disciplined attention to compliance issues, and professionalism is a testament to her dedication to �鶹��Ƶ’s success and safety of �鶹��Ƶ employees,” said David Farris, executive director of Safety and Emergency Management. “Catherine’s efforts have demonstrated to the CDC, our faculty and staff, and our peers that �鶹��Ƶ is committed to making �鶹��Ƶ a safe place to work and learn."

“Her relationship skills on display at the BRL are a shining example of the �鶹��Ƶ value: We thrive together,” said Julie Zobel, associate vice president of Safety, Emergency, and Enterprise Risk Management.

“Catherine has gone above and beyond to elevate the safety of the program and continue to diligently work to make the program better,” said Rachel Pepin, Director of Research Support Operations for the Biomedical Research Laboratory. “Her presence and clear dedication have strengthened the safety of the BRL’s Federal Select Agent Program and her collaborative, engaged, and positive demeanor is an asset to the facility, program, and �鶹��Ƶ.”

How you got to �鶹��Ƶ

I came back to �鶹��Ƶ after working for almost 20 years at American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), a biological resource center located across the street from the SciTech campus. While at ATCC I worked in Regulatory Compliance, Biosafety, and as the Alternate Responsible Official for their Select Agent Program (SAP).

Best day on the job

This will sound a bit odd, but I really like it when CDC comes out to inspect our Select Agent Program. It gives us the opportunity to showcase our High Containment Laboratories, the research that is done here, and to highlight our exceptional program, which includes the personnel and the comprehensive level of training that they complete. The inspections also afford us the opportunity to learn and to improve our program. The staff and students at the BRL are incredibly talented, intelligent, and just an exceptional group of people to work with, and they contribute to the success of our Select Agent program every single day.

What do you like best about working at �鶹��Ƶ

The people. Everyone is incredibly friendly and always eager to help. The work environment fosters communication and cooperation, and there are always learning and professional development opportunities available. On top of that is the ability to attend conferences and to network with other research personnel.

What do you like to do when you’re not working

I love snuggling with my fur babies. I have many and they are very demanding. I love kayaking, hiking, visiting museums, and catching the latest big screen movie. I would really like to catch some baseball games again, but I’m still waiting on the Nats to re-sign all the good players they let go.

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Retro �鶹��Ƶ: Biomedical Research Lab Opening 2010

Colleen Rich — Thu, 14 Apr 2022 16:34:11 +0000

Retro �鶹��Ƶ: Biomedical Research Lab Opening 2010 Colleen Rich Thu, 04/14/2022 - 12:34

On June 10, 2010, �鶹��Ƶ opened the Biomedical Research Laboratory (BRL) on the Science and Technology Campus in Prince William County. Here, �鶹��Ƶ researchers have been able to advance their groundbreaking work on the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of infectious diseases.

The construction of this biocontainment laboratory, one of only 13 in the country when it was built, was funded in part with grants from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a part of the National Institutes of Health.

The $50 million, 52,000-square-foot facility is located on a secure 10-acre site adjacent to the campus and features more than 18,500 square feet of lab space comprising BSL-2 open-design laboratories with cell culture suites, preparation areas, and a microscopy room. The facility is also equipped with ABSL-2 spaces, a surgery suite, BSL-3 laboratories, ABSL-3 suites and a necropsy suite.

In 2010, �鶹��Ƶ President Alan Merten cuts the ribbon on the new Biomedical Research Laboratory with help from Charles J. “Chuck” Colgan and former Virginia governor and U.S. Senator George Allen.

“The dedication of �鶹��Ƶ’s BRL is another giant step forward in growing our biotech industry and revving up Virginia’s economic engine,” said U.S. Senator Mark Warner at the facility’s dedication.

Charles Bailey, the lab's founding director and executive director of �鶹��Ƶ’s National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Diseases, agreed that this facility is quickly becoming an economic driver for �鶹��Ƶ and the region.

“The laboratory and campus have already served as magnets for out-of-state biotechnology companies interested in moving to Northern Virginia,” said Bailey, who retired earlier this year, at the 2010 dedication. “By bringing new research jobs to Prince William County, we hope that the facility will lead to significant economic growth.”

The facility, which is managed by �鶹��Ƶ's Institute for Biohealth Innovation, is fully approved and licensed for work by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The BRL is also fully accredited by AAALAC (Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care).

Photo credits: Evan Cantwell/Creative Services

Biomedical Research Lab

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