Award Data

Aflatoxins are a paradigm among fungal produced mycotoxins that are present in food supplies and are strongly associated with increased risk forthe development of hepatocellular carcinoma. Currently, there are no known countermeasures that can selectively mitigate aflatoxin toxicity andthe available options are only symptomatic treatments. To meet this challenge, we propose to harness the microbio ...

Environmental DNA from three extreme samples will be isolated, cloned into a fosmid library (5760 clones) for sequencing. The sequencing datawill cover ~ 240 Megabases and will be assembled into contigs long enough (~ 40 Kilobases) to represent potential biosynthetic gene clusters(BGCs). This data will be compared to BGC databases looking for homology to antibiotic targets of DoD interest and with ...

Typical procedures for respirator masks sizing and protective fit test are time-consuming and user intensive, requiring taking anthropometric measurements of the wearer, sampling the wearers breathing zone and the use of specialized tools and equipment. The proposed software app aims to quickly, accurately and automatically perform respirator mask sizing and predict protective fit using only 2D im ...

The modern warfighter faces the constant threat of endemic infections, multi-drug resistant bacteria and Biological Warfare Agents. In order to provide accurate front-line treatment that will curtail the overuse of antibiotics, a rapid and robust molecula

Protein manufacturing is of paramount importance to chemical and biological defense applications. High-throughput protein purification is a critical need for rapidly scaling the target protein product. Existing purification methods primarly rely on synthetic-resin based chromatography, which is time-consuming, labor-intensive, expensive, and consequently, ill-suited for developing rapid countermea ...

Safe and efficient air ionization and filtration technology compatible to biodefense applications is of paramount importance. Current ionization methods are energy-intensive, costly, prone to ozone generation, or inefficient, and consequently ill-suited for building protection applications. To overcome these issues, we propose to develop and demonstrate a novel bioaerosol ionization and collection ...

Electronic waste (e-waste) is one of the most rapidly growing waste problems worldwide. Improper handling of e-waste results in vast amounts of toxic waste being sent to landfill and leaching into the water supply. Due to these concerns e-waste recycling is a rapidly growing industry. Unfortunately, most current e-waste recycling processes rely on either manual hand sorting or differential dens ...

The goal of this Phase I research project is to investigate the feasibility and commercial potential of using the One Atmosphere Uniform Glow Discharge Plasma (OAUGDPTM) as a low-temperature sterilization process for medical equipment. Current sterilization technologies that pose a risk to health care workers and the environment are being phased out of use (e.g., ethylene oxide sterilization). T ...

The goal of this Phase I research project is to investigate the feasibility and commercial potential of using the One Atmosphere Uniform Glow Discharge Plasma (OAUGDP™) as a low-temperature sterilization process for medical equipment. Current sterilization technologies that pose a risk to health care workers and the environment are being phased out of use (e.g., ethylene oxide steril ...