RESEARCHERS TO DEVELOP COMPUTATIONAL DIAGNOSTIC METHODS FOR VIRAL PATHOGENS

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RESEARCHERS TO DEVELOP COMPUTATIONAL DIAGNOSTIC METHODS FOR VIRAL PATHOGENS
28 August 2006 - Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

The Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech and Orion Integrated Biosciences Inc. today announced that they have signed an agreement to facilitate the development of new diagnostic methods for key viral pathogens. Under the terms of the agreement, information on encephalic and hemorrhagic viruses from VBI’s PathPort project will be integrated into Orion’s Integrated Computational Analysis System, a high-performance, portable computational tool that allows users to store, retrieve, and exchange molecular and diagnostic data on viral pathogens.

Encephalic and hemorrhagic viruses are some of the most contagious and lethal viruses known worldwide. They include the deadly Ebola and Marburg viruses, as well as mosquito-borne viruses that cause infectious diseases like Dengue and Yellow Fever. Due to their short replication times, high mutation rates and often lethal effects, encephalic and hemorrhagic viruses are likely candidates for use as biological weapons.

Willy Valdivia-Granda, chief executive officer of Orion Integrated Biosciences, said: “We have been very impressed by the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute’s Pathogen Information Markup Language which enables the seamless integration of extensive information on pathogens into Orion’s analysis and visualization tools. By exploiting the natural fit of information in PathPort with Orion’s ICAS, we are well placed to develop new, rapid, and reliable diagnostic tools for emerging and re-emerging viral pathogens.”

Dr. Oswald Crasta, director of bioinformatics for VBI’s Cyberinfrastructure Group, noted: “The lack of diagnostic tools that can integrate and analyze molecular surveillance data is a major gap in disease prevention and the development of countermeasure responses. The combination of PathPort’s ability to make information on pathogens readily available in an easy-to-use format with the powerful diagnostic capabilities of Orion’s computational technologies should help to link specific diagnostic features of viruses to disease outbreaks as well as geographical distribution. This will be a major step forward in our ability to deal with the intentional or non-intentional release of potentially fatal pathogens.”

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