Testimony of Ronald Corley of Boston University in Connection with Proposed Ordinance on BSL-4 Research in the City of Boston
On behalf of the other members of the NEIDL team, I would like to thank the City Council for the opportunity to speak. My name is Ron Corley, and my residence is at 19 Nash Lane, Weston, although my wife will tell you I live at work in the South End at BUMC. I am privileged to be an Associate Director of the NEIDL. I am a microbiologist by training and am currently Chair of the Department of Microbiology at Boston University’s School of Medicine. I also serve as the Associate Provost for Research for Boston University’s Medical Campus.
Today, I would like to discuss four topics related to the NEIDL:
- First, the mission and rationale for the NEIDL and its BSL-4 laboratories.
- Second, the rationale and importance of locating the NEIDL on the BUMC campus, and thus in the South End of Boston.
- Third, Boston University’s deep and pervasive culture of safety and how it’s embedded into the NEIDL’s day-to-day operations.
Finally, I would like to remind you of what the NEIDL is not.
First and foremost, the NEIDL is a research facility. It is a unique laboratory resource designed to facilitate cutting-edge research while ensuring investigator safety and, by extension, the safety of the community. A new human pathogen is detected every twelve-to-eighteen months, and public health officials have been very clear that some of these pathogens have the potential to cause the next pandemic. Increased global travel and the rapid emergence of infectious diseases means any one, or more, of these diseases can unwittingly arrive by plane, from any country, and be spread into our community within days of an outbreak across the globe. The NEIDL’s mission is to study emerging human pathogens, and use the information learned to help develop diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines for the public’s health.
To ban such research and shutter a state-of-the-art laboratory ignores the well-established safety of these facilities. It ignores the reality of the emergence of these diseases and their potential threat to the U.S. and the city of Boston. And it ignores more than $250 million in investment in this project by the National Institutes of Health and Boston University, and the hundreds of millions of dollars that will NOT come to Boston if BSL-4 research cannot be carried out.
The second point is why does this work need to be done on the Boston University Medical Campus in the South End?
BU has a long history of research in microbiology and infectious diseases and is home to an internationally recognized group of scientists in these areas. Many of these researchers have come here over the past few years because of the opportunity to work with other scientists in the NEIDL. Our investigators have the track record of working with a variety of pathogens at all containment levels, and this will present a competitive advantage when applying for research grants. The ability to open at BSL-4 will attract additional investigators, but not just those focused on BSL-4 research. Using an economic term, the BSL-4 is a force multiplier, for both the science and funding. Siting the lab on the medical campus, among other laboratory facilities, is critical to its success.
There are other BSL-4 facilities in the U.S., but the NEIDL is one of only two BSL-4 laboratories within academic medical centers, Galveston National Laboratory in Texas being the other. Locating the lab on the site of a research institution like ours means not only can we tap into our microbiology and infectious disease expertise, but also attract researchers in other fields, such as engineering, chemistry, and computational biology. Leveraging the know-how from our campus, and within the research-intensive Boston area, make it far more likely we will engage the scientists needed to help discover diagnoses, treatments, and cures for these infectious diseases. The great discoveries in science and health today are coming out of this type of multi-disciplinary work. However, the promise of engaging these faculty will be severely hampered if the NEIDL facility cannot be opened at BSL-4.
Part of a university’s primary mission is the education and training of the next generation of scientists. Integrating the NEIDL facility into our research campus allows us to engage young minds and train them to do cutting edge research safely. That’s not only important to us, but also to the vitalty of our community. Research and education are central to our economy and are what makes Boston different from most other cities.
Boston, in fact, is an ideal location to conduct this type of research. The city has the infrastructure and expertise to host the lab. Its fire, police, and emergency responders are second to none and are well trained to respond to an event if ever needed. The Boston-area research community and biotech industry are also second to none and both can take advantage of this valuable scientific resource. Scientists from other institutions have expressed interest in tapping into this national resource. Further, the Boston Public Health Commission is a national leader in regulating and ensuring the safety of biosafety labs, and the city’s health care facilities are among the best in the world.
We know that this work can be done safely in the South End. We know this from the Supplemental Risk Assessment and the review of the SRA. The analysis reinforces what we already know from experience: the track record of existing BSL-4 laboratories is unparalleled. With over 100 years of collective operation, and hundreds of thousands of hours of research, there has never been a release of a BSL-4 organism into the surrounding community, nor has a lab worker or member of the public been infected. To reiterate: the safety record of these laboratories, some of them sited in densely populated areas of cities and near transportation hubs is proven.
This brings me to my third point: the culture of safety at Boston University and the NEIDL. Safety precautions and awareness were embedded in every aspect and design decision of the building. The BSL-4 laboratory space in particular was designed to be self-contained, a “building within a building,” that provides the highest level of safety for people inside and outside the facility. The lab has its own air filtration, decontamination, and waste disposal system, each with redundant back-up systems. Scientists who work at BSL-4 labs know the potential risks of their work, are highly trained, and are, simply, among the best at what they do.
“Safety First” is not just a bumper-sticker phrase at the NEIDL. Everyone from public safety officers to support staff to researchers at all levels has fully bought into the Culture of Safety. Every meeting begins with a discussion of safety. It informs the way our people are trained and drilled, the way pathogens are transported to the facility, and the way our ongoing Suitability and Reliability Policy governs our investigators and staff.
Another integral part of this culture of safety is public transparency and accountability. Before a new research project is approved, the specific pathogen and the nature of the work are vetted in public by the University. Research projects are then forwarded to the Boston Public Health Commission, which has the final say about whether the work may move forward and, once begun, the BPHC has the authority to halt a project that raises concerns at any time.
The university regularly posts on the NEIDL website an accounting of any incidents or accidents that occur in the facility. And remember, many sets of eyes will be on the NEIDL at all times: the Centers for Disease Control, the NIH, the BPHC, Boston Fire and Police Departments. All of these eyes, not to mention our own, contribute to the NEIDL’s deep culture of safety.
Before I close, I want to take a minute to tell you a few things that the NEIDL is NOT.
- The NEIDL is not going to produce biological weapons or WMDs. That’s illegal.
- The NEIDL is not going to work with Smallpox. That’s illegal, too.
- The NEIDL is not going to conduct classified research. It’s all going to be public.
- The NEIDL is not going to ignore its neighbors and the community. To the contrary, we’ve opened its doors to hundreds of citizens so they can see and judge for themselves. Once the lab is operational, we will continue to consult with the community and provide answers to whatever questions or concerns they may have.
Having told you what the NEIDL is not, let me finish with a reminder of what the NEIDL is: it is a National Resource to be used for the local, national and global good. Its mission is to do fundamental research, and to use these findings, together with industry partners, to develop diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines for emerging and reemerging infectious diseases. This IS Public Health.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. I look forward to answering any and all questions you may have.
Ronald B. Corley, Ph.D
Associate Provost for Research
Professor and Chair of Microbiology