Anthrax Speech

Media Contact: Ken Pekoc (406) 375-9690 [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> RESEARCHER PAUL KEIM TO DISCUSS “ANTHRAX THROUGH THE AGES” AT HAMILTON PAC A world expert in classifying bacteria will discuss anthrax and its role throughout history during a community symposium in Hamilton. Paul Keim, Ph.D., will speak on Friday, Oct. 10, at 7 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center of Hamilton High School, 327 Fairgrounds Road. A question-and-answer session will follow. Dr. Keim’s presentation is titled, “Anthrax Through the Ages: History, Evolution and BioCrimes.” Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML) is sponsoring the talk, which is geared to a general audience. Dr. Keim is chair of the microbiology department at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, a director at the Translational Genomics Research Institute in Phoenix, and a research affiliate at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. His research has focused on ways to identify various strains of bacteria according to the detailed structure of their DNA genomes. Dr. Keim works primarily with Bacillus anthrasis, the bacteria that causes anthrax infection. He and his colleagues recently pioneered the development of a new technique in law enforcement investigations known as forensic genomics. In 2002 Dr. Keim led a group that wrote recommendations on microbial forensics for the American Society of Microbiology. The FBI used those recommendations to create its own microbial forensics program. Following the discovery of anthrax-contaminated letters mailed in the United States in 2001, federal investigators asked Dr. Keim to analyze the forensic evidence. His laboratory group identified the specific type of anthrax used in the letters. Previously, he assisted in the 1993 investigation of anthrax being deliberately spread in Kameido, Japan, an incident ultimately connected to the Aum Shinrikyo cult. Along with conducting forensic analyses, Dr. Keim’s research group also is studying interactions between humans and microbes in order to develop new medicines and diagnostic tests, and to determine how diseases spread. “Paul’s work illustrates critically important new ways that science is involved in our culture, and how new technology is advancing the roles that scientists have not only in the field of medicine, but also in other areas of society,” says Marshall Bloom, M.D., associate director at RML. “We are truly fortunate to have an expert like Paul Keim come to Hamilton and speak with the community.” Rocky Mountain Laboratories is part of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious

Diseases (NIAID). NIAID is a component of the National Institutes of Health. NIAID supports basic and applied research to prevent, diagnose and treat infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, influenza, tuberculosis, malaria and illness from potential agents of bioterrorism. NIAID also supports research on basic immunology, transplantation and immune-related disorders, including autoimmune diseases, asthma and allergies. The National Institutes of Health (NIH)—The Nation's Medical Research Agency— includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov .