DHS Office of Health Affairs Presentation for Association of Analytical Chemists

1. DHS Office of Health AffairsPresentation for Association of Analytical Chemists June 25, 2008 Rockville, MD Doug Meckes, DVM Director (Acting), Food Agriculture and Veterinary Defense DHS Office of Health Affairs Doug.meckes@dhs.gov Thanks to Doug, Beth, Randy and the S&T Directorate for providing me the opportunity to be here today to interact with all of you. Thanks to Doug, Beth, Randy and the S&T Directorate for providing me the opportunity to be here today to interact with all of you.

2. DHS Office of Health Affairs MISSION: The Office of Health Affairs serves as the Department of Homeland Security�s principal agent for all medical and health matters. Working throughout all levels of government and the private sector, the Office of Health Affairs leads the Department�s role in developing and supporting a scientifically rigorous, intelligence-based biodefense and health preparedness architecture to ensure the security of our Nation in the face of all hazards.

3. OHA Primary Goals Serve as the principal medical authority for the Department of Homeland Security Lead the Department's biodefense responsibilities End-to-end leadership for implementation of HSPD-9 (Ag/Food Defense) and HSPD-10 (biodefense), including early threat detection and biosurveillance integration Lead a coordinated National architecture for Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) planning and catastrophic incident management Ensure planning and mitigation strategies for biological threats are coordinated across the Interagency Serve as DHS POC for state, local, tribal, and private sector partners for health preparedness Ensure DHS employees are supported by effective occupational health and safety programs Standardize and direct a Departmental occupational health and safety program Provide medical oversight for health delivery throughout the Department In March 2007, OHA stood up to advise Secretary Chertoff as the nation�s incident manager, the FEMA administrator and other leadership on medical and public health matters, ranging from chem/bioterrorism to pandemic influenza to other natural disasters. We are organized into essentially 3 arms: Office of WMD&Biodefense, Office of Medical Readiness, and Component Services. WMD&BD � Leads the Department�s biodefense activities to include Project BioWatch, BioShield, the National Biosurveillance Integration Center, as well as food, agriculture, and veterinary defense activities. I�ll expand on these areas in a minute The OMR - Leads the development of a comprehensive, integrated, andcollaborative framework that protects the health security of the Nation. They�re working on building a National Biodefense Architecture and building content to inform strategic plans for the National Planning Scenarios. And finally, Component Services is focused on as the name implies, ensuring the safety and health of DHS employees. So with a large part of what we do centered on developing, planning, and coordinating strategies to counter WMD, I hope it is clear why we, along with our partners in IP are leading the chem-bio IPT.In March 2007, OHA stood up to advise Secretary Chertoff as the nation�s incident manager, the FEMA administrator and other leadership on medical and public health matters, ranging from chem/bioterrorism to pandemic influenza to other natural disasters. We are organized into essentially 3 arms: Office of WMD&Biodefense, Office of Medical Readiness, and Component Services. WMD&BD � Leads the Department�s biodefense activities to include Project BioWatch, BioShield, the National Biosurveillance Integration Center, as well as food, agriculture, and veterinary defense activities. I�ll expand on these areas in a minute The OMR - Leads the development of a comprehensive, integrated, andcollaborative framework that protects the health security of the Nation. They�re working on building a National Biodefense Architecture and building content to inform strategic plans for the National Planning Scenarios. And finally, Component Services is focused on as the name implies, ensuring the safety and health of DHS employees. So with a large part of what we do centered on developing, planning, and coordinating strategies to counter WMD, I hope it is clear why we, along with our partners in IP are leading the chem-bio IPT.

4. The Integrated Product Team (IPT) Process & the Office of Health Affairs What is OHA�s role in the IPT process? How does OHA go about identifying requirements for S&T? What are some representative technology needs? As a Fellow stakeholder in S&T�s efforts, my goal in the short time I have today is to try to give you a better understanding of my office, which is just over a year old; insight into how we fit into the IPT process as one of the CBD�s primary customers as well as our role in articulating needs on behalf of other stakeholders or end-users (such as other federal agencies, the private sector, first responders); and then give you a snapshot of some representative technology needs in select areas.As a Fellow stakeholder in S&T�s efforts, my goal in the short time I have today is to try to give you a better understanding of my office, which is just over a year old; insight into how we fit into the IPT process as one of the CBD�s primary customers as well as our role in articulating needs on behalf of other stakeholders or end-users (such as other federal agencies, the private sector, first responders); and then give you a snapshot of some representative technology needs in select areas.

5. Directly from a Capstone Integrated Product Team (IPT) Co-chaired by DHS Office of Health Affairs (OHA) and DHS Infrastructure Protection (IP) Membership from other DHS operational components and Inter-Agency partners Identified 47 Capability Gaps in IPT process (FY08) Where Do Our Requirements Come From?

6. OHA: Gateway to External Customers

7. National Biodefense Pillars (HSPD-10) As Doug mentioned, our requirements are generated through multiple avenues � hspds, legislative mandates, risk assessments, and private, state and local inputs. Regardless of which avenue requirements come from, they seem to converge on a common set of questions which we turn to S&T to help us answer: How do we prevent a large-scale bioterrorism attack from becoming a �nation-changing� event? Can we rapidly detect a chem/ biological attack through early warning systems? Are state and local first responders adequately trained and equipped to handle a chem/bioterrorist attack? Are we able to effectively distribute and dispense life-saving countermeasures in the small window of opportunity? Will a city contaminated by anthrax or another biological agent ever be able to fully recover? HSPD-10 lays out the 4 pillars of our national biodefense strategy and there is a similar framework for chemical defense. We this framework we use to examine our capabilities and assess our gaps. As Doug mentioned, our requirements are generated through multiple avenues � hspds, legislative mandates, risk assessments, and private, state and local inputs. Regardless of which avenue requirements come from, they seem to converge on a common set of questions which we turn to S&T to help us answer: How do we prevent a large-scale bioterrorism attack from becoming a �nation-changing� event? Can we rapidly detect a chem/ biological attack through early warning systems? Are state and local first responders adequately trained and equipped to handle a chem/bioterrorist attack? Are we able to effectively distribute and dispense life-saving countermeasures in the small window of opportunity? Will a city contaminated by anthrax or another biological agent ever be able to fully recover? HSPD-10 lays out the 4 pillars of our national biodefense strategy and there is a similar framework for chemical defense. We this framework we use to examine our capabilities and assess our gaps.

8. Threat AwarenessBioterrorism Risk Assessment (BTRA) & CTRA Under the pillar of threat awareness, S&T is fulfilling a need for threat and risk assessments. This is actually an example where are requirement has been generated through legislative mandate � Project BioShield Act of 2004 � as well as through Presidential Directive, and an example of a need that OHA is responsible for advocating on behalf of another federal agency � one of the end-users in this case is HHS. Given the diverse range of threats, a process needed to be established to inform HHS in prioritizing their medical countermeasure activities. S&T is fulfilling this need. While the current capability has mostly focused on traditional threat agents, going forward there is a need to broaden the scope to engineered threats, to integrate assessments across biological, chemical, and R/N classes, and to advance this capability into a tool that can be used at the decision-maker�s desk. Under the pillar of threat awareness, S&T is fulfilling a need for threat and risk assessments. This is actually an example where are requirement has been generated through legislative mandate � Project BioShield Act of 2004 � as well as through Presidential Directive, and an example of a need that OHA is responsible for advocating on behalf of another federal agency � one of the end-users in this case is HHS. Given the diverse range of threats, a process needed to be established to inform HHS in prioritizing their medical countermeasure activities. S&T is fulfilling this need. While the current capability has mostly focused on traditional threat agents, going forward there is a need to broaden the scope to engineered threats, to integrate assessments across biological, chemical, and R/N classes, and to advance this capability into a tool that can be used at the decision-maker�s desk.

9. Surveillance & DetectionBioWatch National Network Operates continuously in more than 30 major population centers Detects attacks against our Nation�s cities and other high value assets Poised to: Enable early detection Provide situational understanding to guide response Share information among partners Integrate into the national networks of reference laboratories Serve as critical element in a national capacity to respond rapidly to bioterrorism events Under the pillar of Surveillance & Detection, OHA has a couple of high priority initiatives because early detection and incident characterization are key to saving lives. The Department�s BioWatch program is an early warning environmental biomonitoring system with capabilities in over 30 of our Nation�s largest cities.Under the pillar of Surveillance & Detection, OHA has a couple of high priority initiatives because early detection and incident characterization are key to saving lives. The Department�s BioWatch program is an early warning environmental biomonitoring system with capabilities in over 30 of our Nation�s largest cities.

10. Surveillance & Detection Representative Technology Needs (Biodetection): An automated, fully integrated �lab-in-a-box� that is capable of aerosol collection, molecular analysis and identification, and reporting of results with networking capability for real-time control of the entire sensor system An automated sampler compatible with lab analysis, sealed for safe handling of potential positives, preservation of sample viability for 1-3 days; flexible, remotely programmable; and relatively low acquisition, operation and maintenance costs Technologies and systems to identify unknown and emerging threats Testing, validation, and guidance for Hand-Held Assays to elicit response from public safety and health communities.

11. Surveillance and DetectionNational Biosurveillance Integration Center (NBIC) OHA also operates the National Biosurveillance Integration Center to identify, characterize, and track biological events in as close to real-time as possible to enable a quick response and mitigate an event. To be successful at this, NBIC must integrate data from human and animal health, plant, food, water and environmental systems into what is called a Biological Common Operating Picture (BCOP). This is a huge undertaking if you consider the disparate data sources as well as the disparate audiences that would utilize the BCOP.OHA also operates the National Biosurveillance Integration Center to identify, characterize, and track biological events in as close to real-time as possible to enable a quick response and mitigate an event. To be successful at this, NBIC must integrate data from human and animal health, plant, food, water and environmental systems into what is called a Biological Common Operating Picture (BCOP). This is a huge undertaking if you consider the disparate data sources as well as the disparate audiences that would utilize the BCOP.

12. Surveillance & Detection Representative Technology Needs (Biosurveillance): Biological event effects forecasting and analysis modeling tools to determine the likely cause or source of the contamination S&T was instrumental in getting NBIC off the ground. And taking it to the next step where we�d receive information from state and local jurisdictions and the private sector in order to build a more comprehensive picture, we are going to need rapid analytic capabilities to facilitate early recognition based on data from different sources and domains. In addition, because leaders in need of biosituational awareness require varying levels of information, we are asking S&T to help develop visual analytics to support rapid absorption of information.S&T was instrumental in getting NBIC off the ground. And taking it to the next step where we�d receive information from state and local jurisdictions and the private sector in order to build a more comprehensive picture, we are going to need rapid analytic capabilities to facilitate early recognition based on data from different sources and domains. In addition, because leaders in need of biosituational awareness require varying levels of information, we are asking S&T to help develop visual analytics to support rapid absorption of information.

13. Response & RecoveryBiodefense Architecture National Coordination Under the final pillar � Response and Recovery � it is the Federal Government�s responsibility to develop and define high-level planning parameters, including a federal strategic plan. The federal gov�t establishes the architecture for the plan and the state and locals develop operational plans from it. It is important that these plans reflect inputs of the various state and local entities that will ultimately implement them. S&T is facilitating OHA�s planning activities by exploring and piloting a Wikipedia-like or massive parallel gaming approach as an efficient mechanism to obtain, integrate, revise, and update input from State and local communities. Under the final pillar � Response and Recovery � it is the Federal Government�s responsibility to develop and define high-level planning parameters, including a federal strategic plan. The federal gov�t establishes the architecture for the plan and the state and locals develop operational plans from it. It is important that these plans reflect inputs of the various state and local entities that will ultimately implement them. S&T is facilitating OHA�s planning activities by exploring and piloting a Wikipedia-like or massive parallel gaming approach as an efficient mechanism to obtain, integrate, revise, and update input from State and local communities.

14. Food, Agriculture and Veterinary (Animal Health/Public Health) Defense (FAVD) Division Integrate efforts of DHS Components Coordinate with appropriate Departments & Agencies Coordinate with tribal, state and local governments and the private sector Provide subject matter expertise to all Food, Agriculture & Veterinary (Animal Health/Public Health) efforts within DHS Defense Protection Preparedness Emergency Response Capability Unify & Strengthen DHS OperationsDefense Protection Preparedness Emergency Response Capability Unify & Strengthen DHS Operations

16. Defense Against Foreign Animal Diseases

17. Representative Technology Needs: Agro-screening tools and protocols to detect and mitigate animal disease outbreaks �Trade-friendly� FMD vaccines, as well as vaccines for RVF, CSF, and other foreign animal diseases High throughput diagnostics Agriculture & food vulnerability assessments Modeling tools to support policy and decision makers in evaluating intervention strategies to control outbreaks Modeling & training tools to support state and local planning and operations Food, Agriculture, & Veterinary Defense

18. Taking Threats Off the Table What can you do? Provide feedback to DHS Deliver near-term improvements, as well as develop innovative tools and technological solutions in the mid- to long-term Enhance our scientific knowledge base What can we do? Develop a Strategic Plan for biological events Establish partnerships at all levels of government, with the private sector, and with non-governmental organizations Identify gaps and work with our partners to address them