Partnering with FCR

 

We work with many partners and stakeholders, including the following.

 

US Homeland Security and food defense

USHS helps to support our efforts to develop improved test for botulinum neurotoxin through a major Reimbursable Trust Agreement.

 

FDA and food safety

Our work on food safety naturally overlaps with that of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). We collaborate with the nearby CFSAN lab in Alameda on detection of bacterial contamination in food.

 

University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain) and mass spectroscopy for TSEs

We are currently developing a novel mass spectroscopy based method for detecting prions and have filed a US Patent Application. The technique is over one million times more sensitive than existing immunoassays for BSE. The work involves collaboration with Dr. Jesus Requena, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

 

University of California San Francisco and TSE detection

For help in developing improved antibodies for use in more sensitive detection of TSE infection we collaborate with the laboratory of Nobel Prize winner Dr. Stanley Prusiner at UCSF under a Specific Cooperative Agreement.

 

UC Irvine and pharmacokinetics

The University of California Irvine administers a grant under which we study the behavior of botulinum neurotoxin in a mouse model (e.g., limited absorption from food and slow inactivation) Reimbursable Trust Agreement.

 

FSIS and Ceftiofur

Upon a request from the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) of the USDA, we recently developed an improved assay for residues of Ceftiofur, a broad spectrum cephalosporin antibiotic used in beef production. This technology is now routinely employed by FSIS for monitoring of this regulated drug.

 

Neogen and assays

Under a Material Transfer Agreement, Neogen Corporation (Lansing, MI) is using antibodies developed by FCR scientists for evaluation in imunoassays for detection of specific contaminants in food.

 

Agdia, Inc., and Bowman-Birk Inhibitor

Immunoassay technology for Bowman-Birk Inhibitor, a naturally-occurring anti-nutritional component of soybeans, has been patented and licensed to Agdia, an immunodiagnostics manufacturer.

 

University of Wisconsin and food security

Our collaboration with Dr. Eric Johnson at UW involves detection of botulinum neurotoxin. Johnson supplies our labs with materials and expertise, previously under a Specific Cooperative Agreement.

 

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and CWD

John Morgan at the FWC collaborates in our work on Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), which is a TSE in wild ruminants of North America. Because CWD is not found in Florida, FWC provides us with valuable normal/unaffected study material.

 

State of Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and CWD

Because we also need diseased material, Simon Hollamby of the Wisconsin DNR Bureau of Wildlife Management grants access to samples taken from CWD infected deer.

 

Canadian Food Inspection Agency and CWD

Additional CWD infected material comes from our colleagues across the border in Canada at the CFIA.

 

PanThera Biopharma LLC and biodefense

Under a Trust Agreement with Panthera we are in early stages of exploring the potential of our antibodies for treatment of exposure to botulinum neurotoxin.

 

Prosetta and protein interaction

Funded through a Reimburseable Trust Agreement, we are working with Prosetta Bioconformatics to identify protein interactions.

 

ASDx and food defense

ASDx Biosystems, Inc, is using our antibodies to develop new luminescence immunoassays to detect botulinum toxins.

 

Meso Scale and defense

Through a Non-Funded Cooperative Agreement we work with Meso Scale Discovery to test our Select Agent antibodies with an advanced detection technique called electrochemiluminescence.

 

Xoma and biodefense

We are evaluating antibodies from Xoma for effectiveness in detecting, preventing, and treating botulism.

 

List Labs

Our antibodies for detection of botulinum neurotoxin are popular with many collaborators, including List Biological Laboratories, Inc.

 

California State University East Bay

A microbiology graduate student is training in our laboratories. Under CSUEB professor Dr. Carol Lauzon, the student is developing a new media system for selective growth of Shiga toxin producing E. coli.

 

Hardy Diagnostics

The work on selective media described immediately above is being conducted under a Non-Funded Cooperative Agreement that coordinates the assistance of a commercial provider of bacterial growth media, Hardy Diagnostics.

 

Other ARS laboratory locations and TSEs

For access to infected animals and tissue specimens we work with scientists at other ARS labs, including the research groups of Dr. Don Knowles (Animal Disease Research Unit, Pullman, WA) and Dr. Marcus Kehrli (National Animal Disease Center, Ames, IA).

 

For more information on partnering please contact any FCR personnel or the PWA Office of Technology Transfer.