INFECTIOUSDISEASES
REGIONAL BIOCONTAINMENT LAB DISCOVERING INNOVATIVESOLUTIONSTO COMBAT
About the BRL
George Mason University?s Biomedical Research Laboratory (BRL) is a core biocontainment facility located on the institution?s SciTech Campus in Northern Virginia
The BRL serves as a center for scientific collaboration to advance knowledge of pathogen biology and host interaction mechanisms and to develop novel diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines against viral and bacterial infectious agents Full service research support is available for internal and external investigators. The BRL has a variety of established animal models, with an emphasis on aerosolized exposures, organ-on-a-chip microphysiological systems, and advanced equipment for in vitro and in vivo imaging and molecular analysis. The facility is fully approved and licensed for work by the CDC. Mason's Animal Care and Use Program is fully accredited by the Association for the Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care, International (AAALAC). Mason is registered as a research facility with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in accordance with the Animal Welfare Act and all amendments and holds a Category 1 Assurance with the Public Health Service (through the NIH's Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare).
Mason?s BRL is one of 12 regional biocont ainm ent laborat ories est ablished t hrough t he Nat ional Inst it ut e of Allergy and Infect ious Diseases?(NIAID) support . As a m em ber of t he NIAID regional and nat ional biocont ainm ent lab net w ork of inst it ut ions locat ed across t he Unit ed St at es, w e collect ively share best pract ices, resources, and expert ise t o drive cut t ing-edge pat hogen research and rapidly address em erging infect ious disease out breaks. The BRL is sit uat ed in t he Biohealt h Capit al Region (BHCR), a prom inent biohealt h clust er ranked #3 nat ionally and locat ed in t he m id-At lant ic.
Training t he fut ure w orkforce t o safely and appropriat ely handle infect ious agent s and conduct innovat ive research in BSL-3 environm ent s is a t op priorit y at t he BRL. Undergraduat e and graduat e st udent s, as w ell as post -doct oral fellow s, learn first hand how t o answ er com plex problem s and develop solut ions t o com bat diseases of nat ional and global concern w hile m aint aining com pliance w it h safet y and securit y prot ocols.
Translation of scientific discoveries is paramount for deploying new technologies for human and veterinary health. Innovative research conducted by Mason faculty, students, and their collaborators has led to the development of three biotech companies, which develop infectious disease countermeasures and laboratory products for studying pathogens: Ceres Nanosciences, Virongy, and acquired start-up, AexeRNA.
Available Pathogens
Pathogens the BRL is currently registered to work with are:
- Bacillus anthracis
- Yersinia pestis
- Francisella Tularensis
- Burkholderia pseudomallei
- Brucella abortus
- Rickettsia prowazekii
- Burkholderia mallei
- Brucella melitensis
- VEEV, EEV, and WEEV
- Rift Valley Fever Virus
- West Nile Virus
- Dengue Virus
- Chikungunya
- SARS-CoV-2
Work with additional BSL-2 and BSL-3 pathogens of interest can be supported upon request.
Virology and Bacteriology Services
The virology and bacteriology core offers an array of specialized services and technical expertise Some services offered include viral and bacterial propagation and titration, viral and bacterial characterization and sequencing, plaque assay and viral neutralization assays, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) tests, infection studies, and medical countermeasure assessments.
Advanced Animal Research Core (AAR)
The AARcore offers access and support to researchers interested in animal model studies. Technical experts are available for protocol development, animal husbandry/care, breeding, and research study planning and execution This state-of-the-art core sits within an AAALAC-accredited vivarium with dedicated BSL-2 and BSL-3 animal holding rooms, procedure rooms, an aerobiology suite, and a fully equipped surgical suite In addition to the cutting-edge facilities with brand new caging systems to hold mice, rats, hamsters, rabbits, and ferrets, the AARcore provides access to advanced instrumentation and equipment for live animal imaging and histology.
Anim al Im aging
The animal imaging core is equipped with the Spectral Instruments Lago-XIn-Vivo Imaging System (IVIS) for bioluminescence/fluorescence visualization, the Mediso Multican LFER150 for PET/CTscanning, and the Fuji Vevo-Xfor photoacoustic and ultrasound imaging. The suite of equipment enables users to develop new imaging techniques and incorporate contrast agents to address emerging research needs.
Aerobiology
The aerobiology suite houses a germfree Class III hoodline equipped with the Biaera aerosol generation system. The setup allows for nose-only or whole-body exposure of animals with BSL-2 and BSL-3 aerosolized pathogens, the testing of aerosolized delivery of therapeutics and vaccines, and the detection of aerosolized pathogens.
Hist ology
Histology services include necropsy of desired tissues, paraffin embedding, and tissue sectioning, staining, and imaging.
Microphysiological Systems
Core (MPS)
The microphysiological systems (MPS) core offers access to organ-on-a-chip platforms and tissue organ systems to study human diseases under realistic physiological conditions. The in vitro models have recently been deployed in drug toxicity assessments and are available as an off-the-shelf solution for drug discovery and medical countermeasure development. The BRL is uniquely positioned to deliver infectious disease models using in vitro organ/tissue platforms that can be deployed in high containment for preclinical drug development. Models for studying viral agents that infect and/or cause tissue disruption to the blood-brain barrier and the lung are currently available CN Bio?s commercially available single- and multi-organ platforms for investigating viral infection will be offered in the near future.
Other Core Services
Molecular Charact erizat ion
The molecular core includes instrumentation for automated nucleic acid and protein isolation, quantitative PCR(qPCR), digital PCR(dPCR), western blot, next-generation sequencing, molecular interaction studies (SPR), real-time cell analysis, and nano-particle characterization
Microscopy and Flow Cyt om et ry
The imaging and cytometry core offers access to state-of-the-art equipment for wide-field fluorescent microscopy, confocal microscopy, live cell imaging, super-resolution microscopy, laser capture microdissection, flow cytometry, and cell sorting.
For a complete list of services and equipment available at the BRL, please visit our website at:
brl.gmu.edu
falem@gmu.edu
Farhang Alem Interim Director Biomedical Research Laboratory