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I thought this might interest some people here. DARPA has announced a couple of workshops surrounding a new program for understanding and ultimately predicting viral pathology.
Genomeweb also wrote a blurb about it.
The official announcement is pasted below and attached as a PDF. (The date for the Boston workshop has been extended past what is shown below).
Genomeweb also wrote a blurb about it.
The official announcement is pasted below and attached as a PDF. (The date for the Boston workshop has been extended past what is shown below).
Special Notice DARPA-SN-10-48: Prophecy Teaming Day Workshop
PROPHECY EAST, Workshop Date: June 24, 2010; REGISTRATION DEADLINE:
June 14, 2010; PROPHECY WEST, Workshop Date: June 30, 2010; REGISTRATION
DEADLINE: June 18, 2010; TECHNICAL POC: Dr. Michael Callahan, DARPA/DSO,
E-mail: [email protected];
URL: www.darpa.mil/dso/solicitations/solicit.htm.
The Defense Sciences Office (DSO) of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is hosting a Teaming Day Workshop that will provide critical information regarding the program vision, the program objectives, and opportunities associated with the development of an interdisciplinary proposal to respond to an anticipated Broad Agency Announcement. This anticipated solicitation will be specifically for multidisciplinary research proposals in the area of predicting the rate, direction, location, and phenotypic result of viral adaptation.
The Prophecy program seeks the development and demonstration of technologies that will result in:
• novel in vitro platforms for reproducing virus-host interactions which will facilitate the assessment of numerous environmental factors and allow for analysis of multiple viral events with culture passage (i.e. clonal or quasi-species assessment);
• novel approaches to sequencing of viral genomes to monitor and distinguish between rare events, mutations and sequencing errors;
• algorithms to predict the rate, direction and phenotype of viral mutations, as well as mutation-prone regions of the genome;
• methods to prevent pathogen zoonosis;
• countermeasure technologies against the emergence of antibiotic- or antiviral-resistant strains and novel pathogens emerging in humans.
The vision of the Prophecy program is to develop and demonstrate novel methods to 1. predict viral mutations prior to their occurrence, 2. deflect pathogens from zoonosis by the creation of high energy evolutionary boundaries to bias against human adaptation, and 3. prevent the evolution of antibiotic- or antiviral-resistant strains. The Prophecy Teaming Day Workshop will introduce interested researchers to the details of the program, provide a forum to facilitate interaction and encourage collaboration among researchers with expertise in relevant disciplines. Participants will break out into small multidisciplinary groups to devise innovative strategies to address the program vision.
The Prophecy Teaming Day Workshop will be held at two locations on two different dates with the same overview information being presented at each. Access will be limited to one of the two workshops in order to ensure broad public attendance. The East Coast Workshop will be held on Thursday, June 24, 2010, at the Westin Waterfront Hotel in Boston, MA. The West Coast Workshop will be held on Wednesday, June 30, 2010, at the Olive 8 Hyatt in Seattle, WA. The goals of the workshop are to: (a) introduce the research community to the Prophecy program vision and its goals; (b) explain the mechanics of a DARPA biology research program and the objectives and milestones of this particular anticipated effort; and (c) encourage and promote collaborative arrangements among potential organizations that have the relevant expertise, facilities, and capabilities for executing a research and development program responsive to the Prophecy program goals. The Teaming Day Workshop will include overview presentations by government personnel, breakout sessions where participants will examine potential strategies to address the program objective, an information session to respond to questions from participants, a poster session to facilitate interaction and collaboration among the session participants, and private sidebars that can be scheduled at onsite registration. A website is provided for additional information and teaming registration at: http://teaming.sainc.com/prophecy.
Potential participants should note that formation of research teams with sufficient expertise to address the objectives described in the anticipated BAA will be critical to the success of the Prophecy program. Participants are strongly encouraged to register at the Teaming Website when registering for the workshop.
Prophecy Teaming Day Workshop participants are required to submit an abstract, which should highlight how their technologies are relevant to the described program vision, and are strongly encouraged to prepare posters describing areas of capabilities in order to facilitate communications, interactions, and collaboration discussions during the poster session. Workshop details including registration, poster session, meeting location, and lodging are provided on the registration websites.
East Coast Workshop:
http://www.sa-meetings.com/DARPA_Prophecy_East. The username is prophecy. The password is east. The registration deadline is June 14, 2010.
West Coast Workshop:
http://www.sa-meetings.com/DARPA_Prophecy_West. The username is prophecy. The password is west. The registration deadline is June 18, 2010.
There is no fee for the Prophecy Teaming Day Workshop. Registration is limited (maximum 100 people; 2 people per organization) by the venue capacity. Access per organization will be limited to one of the two workshops. Early registration is strongly recommended.
Further administrative questions should be addressed to [email protected].
Please refer to the Prophecy Teaming Day Workshop (DARPA-SN-10-48) in all correspondence. This announcement is not a request for proposals; any so sent will be returned.
Point of Contact
Dr. Michael Callahan, Program Manager, DARPA/DSO; Email: [email protected].
PROPHECY EAST, Workshop Date: June 24, 2010; REGISTRATION DEADLINE:
June 14, 2010; PROPHECY WEST, Workshop Date: June 30, 2010; REGISTRATION
DEADLINE: June 18, 2010; TECHNICAL POC: Dr. Michael Callahan, DARPA/DSO,
E-mail: [email protected];
URL: www.darpa.mil/dso/solicitations/solicit.htm.
The Defense Sciences Office (DSO) of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is hosting a Teaming Day Workshop that will provide critical information regarding the program vision, the program objectives, and opportunities associated with the development of an interdisciplinary proposal to respond to an anticipated Broad Agency Announcement. This anticipated solicitation will be specifically for multidisciplinary research proposals in the area of predicting the rate, direction, location, and phenotypic result of viral adaptation.
The Prophecy program seeks the development and demonstration of technologies that will result in:
• novel in vitro platforms for reproducing virus-host interactions which will facilitate the assessment of numerous environmental factors and allow for analysis of multiple viral events with culture passage (i.e. clonal or quasi-species assessment);
• novel approaches to sequencing of viral genomes to monitor and distinguish between rare events, mutations and sequencing errors;
• algorithms to predict the rate, direction and phenotype of viral mutations, as well as mutation-prone regions of the genome;
• methods to prevent pathogen zoonosis;
• countermeasure technologies against the emergence of antibiotic- or antiviral-resistant strains and novel pathogens emerging in humans.
The vision of the Prophecy program is to develop and demonstrate novel methods to 1. predict viral mutations prior to their occurrence, 2. deflect pathogens from zoonosis by the creation of high energy evolutionary boundaries to bias against human adaptation, and 3. prevent the evolution of antibiotic- or antiviral-resistant strains. The Prophecy Teaming Day Workshop will introduce interested researchers to the details of the program, provide a forum to facilitate interaction and encourage collaboration among researchers with expertise in relevant disciplines. Participants will break out into small multidisciplinary groups to devise innovative strategies to address the program vision.
The Prophecy Teaming Day Workshop will be held at two locations on two different dates with the same overview information being presented at each. Access will be limited to one of the two workshops in order to ensure broad public attendance. The East Coast Workshop will be held on Thursday, June 24, 2010, at the Westin Waterfront Hotel in Boston, MA. The West Coast Workshop will be held on Wednesday, June 30, 2010, at the Olive 8 Hyatt in Seattle, WA. The goals of the workshop are to: (a) introduce the research community to the Prophecy program vision and its goals; (b) explain the mechanics of a DARPA biology research program and the objectives and milestones of this particular anticipated effort; and (c) encourage and promote collaborative arrangements among potential organizations that have the relevant expertise, facilities, and capabilities for executing a research and development program responsive to the Prophecy program goals. The Teaming Day Workshop will include overview presentations by government personnel, breakout sessions where participants will examine potential strategies to address the program objective, an information session to respond to questions from participants, a poster session to facilitate interaction and collaboration among the session participants, and private sidebars that can be scheduled at onsite registration. A website is provided for additional information and teaming registration at: http://teaming.sainc.com/prophecy.
Potential participants should note that formation of research teams with sufficient expertise to address the objectives described in the anticipated BAA will be critical to the success of the Prophecy program. Participants are strongly encouraged to register at the Teaming Website when registering for the workshop.
Prophecy Teaming Day Workshop participants are required to submit an abstract, which should highlight how their technologies are relevant to the described program vision, and are strongly encouraged to prepare posters describing areas of capabilities in order to facilitate communications, interactions, and collaboration discussions during the poster session. Workshop details including registration, poster session, meeting location, and lodging are provided on the registration websites.
East Coast Workshop:
http://www.sa-meetings.com/DARPA_Prophecy_East. The username is prophecy. The password is east. The registration deadline is June 14, 2010.
West Coast Workshop:
http://www.sa-meetings.com/DARPA_Prophecy_West. The username is prophecy. The password is west. The registration deadline is June 18, 2010.
There is no fee for the Prophecy Teaming Day Workshop. Registration is limited (maximum 100 people; 2 people per organization) by the venue capacity. Access per organization will be limited to one of the two workshops. Early registration is strongly recommended.
Further administrative questions should be addressed to [email protected].
Please refer to the Prophecy Teaming Day Workshop (DARPA-SN-10-48) in all correspondence. This announcement is not a request for proposals; any so sent will be returned.
Point of Contact
Dr. Michael Callahan, Program Manager, DARPA/DSO; Email: [email protected].