The visit showcased the Orion project, which will unprecedentedly connect a maximum biological containment laboratory with a synchrotron light source
On July 2, the French Guiana Pasteur Institute Director, Christophe Peyrefitte, accompanied by the Science and Technology Attaché of the French Embassy in Brazil, Marion Magnan, visited the facilities of the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) in Campinas/SP. The delegation’s main interest was to learn about the Orion project — a laboratory complex for advanced research into pathogens, which will include maximum biological containment facilities (NB4) unprecedented in Latin America, the first in the world connected to a synchrotron light source, Sirius.
Caption: Christophe Peyrefitte, French Guiana Pasteur Institute Director, visited the CNPEM training laboratory, a faithful replica of NB3 and NB4 laboratories (CNPEM Outreach)
Welcomed by CNPEM General Director, Antonio José Roque da Silva, the visitors toured several facilities on the campus, including the Sirius electron accelerator and CNPEM’s microscopy and biosciences infrastructures, in addition to the training laboratory — where the Training & Qualification Program in NB3 laboratories is currently conducted, and soon, also in NB4 laboratories (abbreviation for biosafety level 4).
The visit reinforces the mutual interest in international scientific cooperation on strategic public health and biotechnology issues. It is worth noting that, since the beginning, the Orion project scope has been discussed with representatives from various institutions — national and international, so that its infrastructure is adequate to meet demands of different natures.
Project Orion
Project Orion will be a laboratory complex for advanced pathogen research and will include Latin America’s first maximum biological containment level facilities (BSL-4), the only laboratory of its kind in the world connected to a synchrotron light source, Sirius. Currently under construction in the city of Campinas, São Paulo on the CNPEM campus, this project will combine analytic techniques and advanced competencies in bioimaging which will be open to the scientific community and public agencies. By permitting advances in knowledge on pathogens and related diseases, Orion will support health surveillance activities and policies, as well as the development of diagnostic methods, vaccines, treatments, and epidemiological strategies. Orion will support national sovereignty in facing health crises and has the potential to benefit various areas such as health, science and technology, defense, and the environment.
The implementation of Project Orion is overseen by the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM), a social organization linked to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI). The project is part of the federal government’s New Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) and funded with resources from the National Scientific and Technological Development Fund (FNDCT) and MCTI, with support from the Ministry of Health (MS). The New PAC also involves carrying out the second phase of Project Sirius with an investment of approximately R$ 800 million, which will include constructing ten new research stations and optimization of the facilities.
The Orion initiative is part of the federal government’s New Industry Brazil (NIB) stimulus policy and will serve as an instrument of national sovereignty, competence, and security in the fields of science and technology for research, defense, and human, animal, and environmental health. Orion was also planned to strengthen the Health Economic-Industrial Complex (CEIS), an initiative coordinated by the Ministry of Health and intended to meet priority demands from the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS).
About CNPEM
The Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) is home to a state-of-the-art, multi-user and multidisciplinary scientific environment and works on different fronts within the Brazilian National System for Science, Technology and Innovation. A social organization overseen by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), CNPEM is driven by research that impacts the areas of health, energy, renewable materials, and sustainability. It is responsible for Sirius, the largest assembly of scientific equipment constructed in the country, and is currently constructing Project Orion, a laboratory complex for advanced pathogen research. Highly specialized science and engineering teams, sophisticated infrastructure open to the scientific community, strategic lines of investigation, innovative projects involving the productive sector, and training for researchers and students are the pillars of this institution that is unique in Brazil and able to serve as a bridge between knowledge and innovation. CNPEM’s research and development activities are carried out through its four National Laboratories: Synchrotron Light (LNLS), Biosciences (LNBio), Nanotechnology (LNNano), Biorenewables (LNBR), as well as its Technology Unit (DAT) and the Ilum School of Science — an undergraduate program in Science and Technology supported by the Ministry of Education (MEC).
