News Release

Fast pandemic detection tool ready to fight flu

Los Alamos and Agilent Technologies develop first high-throughput system to be deployed at UCLA's new Global Bio Lab

Business Announcement

DOE/Los Alamos National Laboratory

LOS ALAMOS, New Mexico, June 9, 2009—In a joint effort by national laboratory-, university- and private-sector institutions, researchers are developing new tools for rapidly characterizing biological pathogens that could give rise to potentially deadly pandemics such as Influenza A (H1N1).

The first tool, an automated genotyping system, is a joint effort between Los Alamos National Laboratory, the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Public Health, and Agilent Technologies. This system will be utilized in the Global Bio Lab at UCLA and will use high-throughput technology for automated global-public-health surveillance.

The automated genotyping system, built to specification by Agilent Technologies, was delivered to Los Alamos in late May for verification of design and capability testing. The $1.7 million BioCel Automation System was designed in collaboration by Los Alamos and UCLA researchers, and professionals at Agilent's automation solutions division, previously known as Velocity11. The system will be able to automatically determine the genetic sequence of viruses such as influenza hundreds of times faster than any other method available today.

By using this system and future high-throughput tools in pandemic response mode, public-health officials will be able to rapidly and reliably determine the strain of a virus, allowing more time for mitigation or containment strategies to be employed if necessary. Moreover, these BioCel systems will also be useful in research mode for monitoring animal populations for the emergence of new and potentially deadly pathogens before the pathogens are able to infect humans. The UCLA Global Bio Lab will become part of the High Throughput Laboratory Network (HTLN), which, when built out, will provide an international and interconnected capacity that provides uniformity in testing methods—reducing the potential for errors or confusion arising from variable testing methodologies currently used.

"As the recent outbreak of the swine flu shows, we need to do a much more extensive and thorough job of surveillance," said Dr. Tony Beugelsdijk, leader of the HTLN project at Los Alamos National Laboratory. "This program will provide the world with the tools for this task."

Current genetic identification methods require lots of time and manpower. The new genotyping system features two robots and the ability to fully sequence 10,000 or more influenza viruses per year. This makes it much faster and more reliable than current methods, and reduces the amount of manpower necessary to process a large number of samples.

"This system is the next-generation tool to rapidly and accurately test and identify biological pathogens in mass quantities of samples," said Nick Roelofs, vice president and general manager of Agilent Life Sciences Solutions Unit. "Capable of performing tests 100 times faster than any current method, it will provide reliable, real-time data to the global health community. Given current health concerns about the swine flu, the system addressees an immediate and vital need in the public health arena."

Later this summer the system will be delivered to UCLA, where researchers will operate the system for public health research and surveillance, and train others to use the new tool. If necessary, the system has surge capacity and the ability to test samples in response to a pandemic should the need arise.

"The automated genotyping system will vastly increase the speed and volume by which influenza samples are analyzed," added Dr. Scott Layne, professor of epidemiology at the UCLA School of Public Health. "The pace of emerging infectious disease outbreaks in the world is increasing and demands new kinds of technologies be created and applied. These technologies will help us to safeguard public health and save lives."

LANL and UCLA researchers are currently determining protocols for culturing and screening processes that can be used with the high-throughput laboratory. Establishing such protocols is the next step toward making the Global Bio Lab at UCLA fully operational.

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The Global Bio Lab at UCLA is funded by the U.S. Department of Defense and the California Office of Homeland Security and is being developed in partnership between Los Alamos and UCLA.

About Los Alamos National Laboratory (www.lanl.gov)

Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a team composed of Bechtel National, the University of California, The Babcock & Wilcox Company, and the Washington Division of URS for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.

Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.

About Agilent Technologies (www.agilent.com)

Agilent Technologies Inc. is the world's premier measurement company and a technology leader in communications, electronics, life sciences, and chemical analysis. The company's 19,000 employees serve customers in more than 110 countries. Agilent had net revenues of $5.8 billion in fiscal 2008. Information about Agilent is available on the Web at www.agilent.com.

About UCLA School of Public Health (www.ph.ucla.edu)

The UCLA School of Public Health is dedicated to enhancing the public's health by conducting innovative research, training future leaders and health professionals, translating research into policy and practice, and serving local, national, and international communities. For more information see www.ph.ucla.edu.


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