The United States currently faces a critical vulnerability to infectious diseases spread through natural causes or bioterrorism. Our country needs to build additional laboratories capable of rapidly developing vaccines and other pharmaceuticals. To meet this need, OHSU has proposed constructing new labs committed to ongoing research, yet able to respond quickly in times of national or regional crisis.

OHSU has submitted two proposals to the federal government. One proposal would fund construction of a comprehensive national research laboratory called the Pacific Rim Vaccine Development Center. This laboratory would be able to support research on any infectious agent. The second proposal would fund creation of a smaller, regional laboratory called the Pacific Rim Vaccine Research Center. This facility would be limited to research on biosafety level 3 infectious disease microbes.

Proposed Pacific Rim Vaccine Development Center