Global Security Newswire

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday announced $10.9 million in grants for the study of state and local governmental capabilities for dealing with public health emergencies, the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy reported (see GSN, Feb. 21).

The funds would help seven universities to establish "Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Centers," which would "evaluate the structure, capabilities and performance of public health systems for preparedness and emergency response," according to a CDC statement.

"These research centers will connect public health with scientists involved in business, engineering, legal, and social sciences to incorporate multiple perspectives into preparedness and response research which can be used to strengthen our nation's response capability," said Richard Besser, head of the CDC Terrorism Preparedness and Emergency Response Coordinating Office.

The participating institutions are Emory University in Atlanta, Harvard University in Boston, John Hopkins University in Baltimore, and the universities of Minnesota, North Carolina, Pittsburgh and Washington (Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy release, Oct. 7).