GW Receives Up to $14.6 Million to Develop Method to Characterize Biological and Chemical Threats

A team led by a GW researcher will receive up to $14.6 million over five years from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop an approach to rapidly identify the root of biological and chemical threats. The researchers are tasked with reducing to 30 days a process that can sometimes take years or even decades. If they are successful, the approach could bolster national security efforts to combat these threats. “Clearly, this is a very large challenge, and it’s easy to understand why it’s important to overcome,” said Akos Vertes, Professor of Chemistry. “Discovering the cause behind a biological or chemical threat can provide information that not only counteracts the threat but also provides important information for pharmaceutical companies developing drugs that may be unrelated to the threat.”