Newark Star Ledger: Microbiologist quoted on congressional drug development bill

An article in the Newark Star-Ledger on a congressional bill that would establish the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), a new federal agency to speed development of drugs for an array of infectious diseases that are bioterror threats, quotes Iain Hay, Grant T. Fisher chair and professor of microbiology and immunology, who said "It's sort of taken bioterrorism to wake us up to the fact that infectious diseases are a real problem. They're not funding us for research into the common cold, but the technology we're developing for exotic diseases could be used for the more common diseases. While the investment is coming from anti-bioterrorism funding, there is a benefit for the man or woman on the street." Go to article.