Biodefense and Drug Development

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From Ebola outbreaks in Africa to the spread of mpox and, of course, COVID, a disease that emerges in one place can threaten people the world over. Governments, nonprofit organizations, and pharmaceutical companies all get involved in detecting and fighting these outbreaks, but there’s another player that flies under the radar.

The US military has to prepare and protect personnel and their families, and they don’t keep their work to themselves. Just outside of Washington DC, Ft. Detrick houses a series of laboratories where military and civilian scientists and technicians work together to predict what the next outbreak might be – and to help defend against it.

At the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), researchers do the basic science of developing vaccines, diagnostic tests, and treatments for dangerous germs. In this episode, we visit the labs and speak with Dr. John Dye, deputy director of the Foundational Sciences Directorate at USAMRIID, who tells host Maggie Fox about the threats facing the world, and why the US military is involved in fighting them.