CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The third annual Biothreat Agents Workshop will be held on Monday March 15 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with an evening networking reception to follow, and Tuesday March 16 from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Harris Corporate Training and Conference Center on the campus of Central Piedmont Community College.
The workshop is the result of collaboration between CET, LLC, (formerly Clean Earth Technologies, LLC) and Wake Forest University School of Medicine. The focus of the conference is to provide a unique opportunity where researchers, responders, vendors and students share their ideas and the latest developments with end users and policy makers in the field of biodefense.
Kunapuli T. Madhusudhan, Ph.D., chief scientist and program manager of CET, said the workshop will bring in top scientists from across the nation in the public and private sectors.
“2010 Biothreat Agents Workshop will bring researchers together to focus on strategies to counter biothreats, improve the overall level of national preparedness by exchanging scientific information, and facilitate networking opportunities among those doing this work,” Madhusudhan said.
Kevin High, M.D., professor and section head of Internal Medicine-Infectious Diseases at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, said, “This workshop provides a unique opportunity for collaboration between academia and industry. Attendees will benefit from the research and science expertise from both entities."
Douglas L. Edgeton, president of Piedmont Triad Research Park (PTRP), where CET is located, said, “This conference is a great way for CET to showcase its skill set. CET is a valued member of our research community and further enhances the reputation of PTRP as a place ‘Where Innovation Lives.’”
2010 Biothreat Agents Workshop is funded by a Biotechnology Meeting Grant from the N.C. Biotechnology Center. These grants support national and international meetings that advance the understanding or application of biotechnology and focus the attention on the scientific and business communities.
“The exchange of innovative science and ideas between scientists, academia and government is critical to biotechnology development,” said Gwyn Riddick, the Biotechnology Center’s vice president for agricultural biotechnology. “By sponsoring this meeting, we hope to foster a dynamic opportunity for sharing among diverse industry, governmental and academic groups to generate scientific methods to protect our food, air and water from biothreats.”
An agenda for the conference is available at http://www.regonline.com/builder/site/tab2.aspx?EventID=785382
Media Contact: Julie Turner at CET, LLC, (336) 397-1900, jturner@cleanearthtech.com, can help arrange interviews with conference speakers. If you are planning to attend, you must attendance with Julie prior to the workshop, for security access.
About CET (www.cleanearthtech.com)
CET, LLC. is a premiere small business science and technology firm developing products, technologies, and providing services in intelligence, defense, homeland security, and life sciences. CET is headquartered in St. Louis, MO with locations in Huntsville, AL, Dallas, TX and Winston-Salem, NC within the Piedmont Triad Research Park. Areas of expertise include physiology, microbiology, biochemistry, genetics, analytical chemistry, biological and chemical forensics, photochemistry, emerging infections and public health preparedness. In 2007 CET opened its Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Disease Preparedness Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in PTRP.
About Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center (www.wfubmc.edu)
Wake Forest Baptist is an academic health system comprised of North Carolina Baptist Hospital, Brenner Children’s Hospital, Wake Forest University Physicians, and Wake Forest University Health Sciences, which operates the university’s School of Medicine and Piedmont Triad Research Park. The system, which includes Lexington Memorial Hospital, comprises 1,056 acute care and rehabilitation beds and has been ranked as one of “America’s Best Hospitals” by U.S. News & World Report since 1993. Wake Forest Baptist also holds the Gold Seal of Approval™ from the Joint Commission, the nation’s esteemed standards-setting and accrediting body for health care quality. Wake Forest Baptist is ranked 32nd in the nation by America’s Top Doctors for the number of its doctors considered best by their peers. The institution ranks in the top third in funding by the National Institutes of Health and fourth in the Southeast in revenues from its licensed intellectual property.
About Piedmont Triad Research Park (www.ptrp.com)
The Piedmont Triad Research Park (PTRP) is a place where innovation lives. Located in Winston-Salem’s downtown business district and centered in the North Carolina Technology Corridor, PTRP expansion plans, led by Wake Forest University Health Sciences, are underway to revitalize its approximately 200 acres* over the next 20-30 years. Currently, the PTRP community encompasses six buildings providing over 554,000 sq. ft. of wet lab, office, meeting and residential space. PTRP is home to 42 technology tenants who collectively employ over 850 university and corporate personnel from around the globe.
About North Carolina Biotechnology Center (www.ncbiotech.org)
The Biotechnology Center is a private, non-profit corporation supported by the N.C. General Assembly. Its mission is to provide long-term economic and societal benefits to North Carolina by supporting biotechnology research, business, education and strategic policy statewide. According to the regional office, the Piedmont Triad is home to 65 bioscience-related companies performing work in a variety of fields including regenerative medicine, genomic medicine and industrial biotechnology. An additional 50 companies support this cluster with sales, marketing and other customized professional services.
*Editor: acreage updated 6/2012
Media Relations
Main Number: news@wakehealth.edu, 336-713-4587