Risk Management FAQs
Feature: Risk Management FAQs
It’s better to find the problem before it finds you. Time and energy invested now to implement a risk management program can eliminate inefficiencies and prevent project failure.
Our new frequently asked questions about risk management include how to get started, steps in the risk management process and a risk severity index formula and table you can apply to your projects.
Featured resource (free):
Frequently Asked Questions: Risk Management
TechWatch: Science News Tidbits
Scientists sicken mosquitoes to stop Dengue
(Audio 3:54) “About six years ago, Scott O'Neill of Monash University had an idea about using bacteria called Wolbachia to prevent dengue's spread. The idea works like this: Use a strain of Wolbachia to shorten the mosquito's life, killing it before it becomes mature enough to transmit the dengue virus.” (Source: NPR)
Flu "super antibody" may bring universal shot closer
“Scientists have found a flu 'super antibody' called FI6 that can fight all types of influenza A viruses that cause disease in humans and animals and say their discovery may be a turning point in the development of new flu treatments." (Source: Reuters)
New broad-spectrum antiviral therapeutics
“...there are relatively few antiviral therapeutics, and most which do exist are highly pathogen-specific or have other disadvantages. We have developed a new broad-spectrum antiviral approach, dubbed Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) Activated Caspase Oligomerizer (DRACO) that selectively induces apoptosis in cells containing viral dsRNA, rapidly killing infected cells without harming uninfected cells.” (Source: PLoS One)
Virtual rat project earns federal grant
“The Medical College of Wisconsin has received a five-year government grant worth $13 million to spearhead an international group that will be tasked with creating a virtual rat model. The computer model will enable scientists to simulate the animal's cardiovascular system and develop rats in which certain genes are silenced to evaluate and determine the function of such genes, among other applications.” (Source: Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via BIO SmartBrief)
Novel antibodies could lead to AIDS vaccine
“Some of the broadly neutralizing antibodies, or bNAbs, blocked HIV infection of cells as much as 10 to 100 times as potently as previously discovered antibodies, according to a release. A small number of people who contract HIV start producing bNAbs after several years of infection. Researchers hope that the antibodies could block HIV infection if developed into a vaccine. The findings were published in the journal Nature.” (Source: FierceVaccines)
Industry and Government Contracting News
The Institute of Medicine recently issued its first report on vaccine safety in 17 years: Adverse Effects of Vaccines: Evidence and Causality.
Washington Technology reported a new federal contracting rule: winning companies must offer first right of refusal to previous contractor's employees whose jobs would end as the result of an award.
Biodefense is among potential federal spending cuts. (Source: Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News)
The FDA published Communicating Risks and Benefits: An Evidence-Based User’s Guide (3,128 KB, PDF).
The UPMC Center for Biosecurity marked the 10th anniversary of the 2001 anthrax attacks with Crossroads In Biosecurity, a collection of commentaries and recommendations on biological threats.
HHS reports more than 70 medical countermeasures now in development. (Source: CIDRAP News)
Washington Business Journal offers insight into the importance of full disclosure in federal contracting. The verdict? Don't keep your skeletons in the closet--they'll be found in the long run.
Looking for science-related apps for your mobile device? Check out the Scientific Mobile Applications wiki. Or just want to see how people swap germs? There's an app for that.
Virus-like particles show promise in Hepatitis C vaccine candidate. (Source: Reuters)
New research on how FluMist® works. (Source: FierceBiotech)
Transitioning from paper to eCTD submissions, from CATO Research.
Army research could lead to Ebola countermeasures. (Source: Global Security Newswire)
"EBay for science" could enable outsourcing of experiments. (Source: Scientific American)
DVC President Dr. Robert V. House has added "professor" to his list of titles. Dr. House is teaching a course at the George Mason University Department of Public and International Affairs Biodefense Graduate Program this semester: Development of Vaccines and Therapeutics.
Book: American Anthrax: Fear, Crime, and the Investigation of the Nation's Deadliest Bioterror Attack, by Jeanne Guillemin
Featured resource: CIDRAP University of Minnesota Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy
Upcoming Events
October 2011 and other dates, Logan, UT – Biotechnology and Bioprocessing Training Programs
October 5-7, 2011, Santa Fe, NM - 48th Annual Interagency Botulism Research Coordinating Committee meeting; DVC's Dr. George Saviolakis and Jeffry Shearer will be presenting results from nonclinical and clinical research on DVC's rBV A/B vaccine development program
October 6, 2011, Roanoke, VA - Fifth Annual Southwest Virginia Life Science Forum
October 11-13, 2011, Washington, DC – DIA U.S. Conference on Rare Diseases and Orphan Products
October 12, 2011, Washington, DC – MidAtlantic Bio
October 14, 2011, College Park, MD – Technology Start-Up Boot Camp
October 17, 2011, Gaithersburg, MD – New Strategies for Vaccine Development and Clinical Manufacturing (free promotional event, hosted by GE Life Sciences)
October 18, 2011, Baltimore, MD - Drug Discovery in Academia, hosted by the Johns Hopkins Brain Science Institute
October 18, 2011, Bridgewater, NJ and October 20, 2011, Cambridge, MA – Second Annual Biologics Symposium (free promotional event, hosted by Huntingdon Life Sciences)
October 21, 2011 - deadline to nominate a colleague for the Top 10 Women in Biotec
View previous editions of this newsletter in our archive or learn more about DVC on our website.
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