Regional Biocontainment Laboratory (RBL) Upgrade for Colorado State University (CSU)

Project Abstract: The realization that our national and global communities are at risk from intentional, incidental, or emergent release of an infectious disease catalyzed our nation's commitment to invest in national and regional biocontainment laboratories as part of our public health and emergency preparedness system. The foothills campus at Colorado State University is home to one of these regional biocontainment laboratories, the Rocky Mountain Regional Biocontainment Laboratory (RMRBL). This laboratory was built in 2007, opened in 2008, and was the first of 12 designated laboratories to operate with select agent use certification. In the 14 years since its opening, our facility has thrived as a center of biodefense and emerging infectious disease research, responding to threats from re-emergent diseases, such as tuberculosis, and emerging infectious diseases, such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus, Zika, and notably, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2. This facility is truly unique in its capacity as it supports BSL3/ASBL3 and BSL2 basic research of a large number of emerging and re-emerging pathogens, and at the same time, supports the GLP/GMP testing and manufacturing of products (diagnostic reagents, vaccines, and therapeutics) in a BSL3 environment. Despite the RMRBL's success and strengths, a sole reliance on institutional commitment and service charges to investigators to support the costs of 1) operational and safety requirements of the facility; 2) animal care facilities and husbandry dedicated to infectious diseases; and 3) specialized equipment upgrades and repairs, present a major challenge to this facility's ability to remain at the forefront of research in pathogens of high consequence. The proactive and professional management of the RMRBL, and strong extramural funding of infectious diseases research at Colorado State University have allowed us to navigate these challenges; however, the continued aging of the facility coupled with the major costs of modernization and major facility and specialized equipment upgrades threaten the sustainability of the RMRBLs capacity to support state-of-the-art infectious disease research. In this application, we propose three aims that respectively address the needs to 1) upgrade operational and safety requirements of the facility, 2) maintain animal care facilities and husbandry dedicated to infectious diseases, and 3) modernize specialized equipment via strategic investments. The specific items selected under each aim as a critical investment were selected via a prioritization process that sought input from the major RMRBL and institutional stake holders and were determined to have the greatest impact on uninterrupted and accelerated research on high-containment pathogens and response to infectious disease outbreaks.