Boston Public Health Commission to Consider NEIDL Research Request Tonight

The Boston Public Health Commission will hold a public meeting this evening, Monday, March 6, to discuss a request by Boston University’s National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL) for permission to conduct research at Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4). The meeting will be held in the Hayes Conference Room on the second floor of 1010 Massachusetts Avenue from 5 to 7:30 p.m.

After more than two years of intensive review, BSL-4 research at the NEIDL was approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in December, bringing NEIDL scientists closer to finding new ways to prevent and treat Ebola and other dangerous pathogens. The lab, on BU’s Medical Campus in the South End, was built according to the most stringent safety specifications set by the US government for conducting infectious disease research. It still needs approval from the Boston Public Health Commission before scientists can conduct research at BSL-4.

The NEIDL, which has been conducting research at BSL-2 and BSL-3, is part of a national network of secure facilities that study emerging infectious diseases and develop diagnostic tests, treatments, and vaccines to promote public health. BSL-4 research studies infectious diseases that are usually life-threatening and that have no available vaccine or therapy. There are 11 BSL-4 labs across North America—10 in the United States, and one in Winnipeg, Canada.