Luciana Santos, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), visited the CNPEM campus this Friday, June 14
CNPEM Director General Antonio José Roque da Silva and Minister Luciana Santos holding a model of Orion, connected to Sirius (Photo Credit: Outreach/CNPEM)
Luciana Santos, Brazil’s Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, visited the campus of the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) on the afternoon of Friday, June 14 to see the work underway to implement Project Orion, the globally pioneering complex for advanced pathogen research and the first connected to a synchrotron light source, Sirius.
She was received by CNPEM Director General Antonio José Roque da Silva, along with Maria Augusta Arruda of the Brazilian Biosciences National Laboratory (LNBio), Rodrigo Capaz of the Brazilian Nanotechnology National Laboratory (LNNano), Harry Westfahl Jr. of the Brazilian Synchrotron Light National Laboratory (LNLS), CNPEM Deputy Director James Citadini, Ilum School of Science Director Adalberto Fazzio, Renata de Vasconcellos Aquino of the Department of Shared Services (DSC), and other Center staff.
Minister Santos said that her presence at CNPEM lays the groundwork for a visit by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva during the coming weeks. “We are here to see the work that is underway and prepare for the president’s visit, showing that the PAC (the federal growth accelerator program) investments are not just on paper but already a reality,” she stated.
She added that research conducted at Orion in the future will provide solutions and foresight for pandemics. “We know what we went through with Covid-19, and with Orion we will be able to provide rapid solutions. This is why it was added into the PAC by the president as a priority. We have estimated investments of over R$ 1 billion that may be able to save lives, with technology to prevent and combat emerging diseases.”
The minister visited the site where excavation and infrastructure work are underway to construct the building that will house Orion.
CNPEM Director General Antonio José Roque da Silva shared a video depiction of the completed building and how it will be connected to Sirius. The stages of construction were also presented, along with the special clothing that will be worn by the scientists and technicians who will work in the BSL-4 laboratory.
The director stated that implementing the Orion project is not limited to construction of the building and installation of the equipment, but also includes training the professionals who will work in the complex. Many researchers are already abroad and others will soon follow for training and professional development, since Brazil does not have a laboratory like the one that will be established as part of Orion.
“They will spend months abroad learning to work in these environments. Protocols are also being developed, including for sample preparation. We also have an advanced training program that we are showing the minister,” explained the director.
Project Orion 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 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). This 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).
The New PAC was announced in August 2023, and includes resources from FNDCT/MCTI for Phase II of Sirius, spanning construction of ten new research stations as well as optimization of the facilities.
Today, ten research stations have been opened to the scientific community at Sirius, which is one of three fourth-generation synchrotron light sources in the world, and four more are in the final stages of testing, thus concluding Phase I of the project.
With Phase II, Sirius will broaden its capacity to serve science by providing another ten beamlines with new analysis techniques that will benefit society in various areas of knowledge such as health, agriculture, the environment, renewable energy, sustainable materials, along with a range of other possibilities.
Project Orion
Project Orion is a laboratory complex for advanced pathogen research which will include Latin America’s highest biological containment level facilities (BSL-4) and the only lab of this kind in the world connected to a particle accelerator, 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.
About CNPEM
CNPEM is home to a state-of-the-art, multi-user and multidisciplinary scientific environment with activities within different fronts of the Brazilian National System for Science, Technology and Innovation. A social organization overseen by the 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 developing 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. It is responsible for operating the Brazilian Synchrotron Light (LNLS), Biosciences (LNBio), Nanotechnology (LNNano), and Biorenewables (LNBR) National Laboratories, as well as the Ilum School of Science, which offers a bachelor’s degree program in science and technology with support from the Ministry of Education (MEC).
