Delegation from RKI visits CNPEM to discuss strategic details about implementation and operations for Project Orion, as part of ongoing developments following a cooperative agreement signed last year.
Legend: Representatives from the Robert Koch Institute visit the worksite of Project Orion, a future complex for advanced pathogen research at CNPEM (Photo credit: Outreach/CNPEM)
The Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) hosted a delegation from Germany’s Robert Koch Institute (RKI) to discuss the details of Project Orion, a laboratory complex for advanced pathogen research. The visit took place in September of this year, and is part of a collaboration between the two institutions formalized in an agreement signed in Berlin last year between CNPEM, RKI, and the Brazilian Ministries of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) and Health (MS). Project Orion stands out as the first maximum biosecurity containment (BSL-4) in Latin America, and the first in the world to be connected with a synchrotron light source, Sirius.
The RKI delegation was comprised of Prof. Dr. Johanna Hanefeld, Vice– President (acting) and Head of the Center for International Health Protection, as well as Prof. Dr. Andreas Kurth and Frank Siejak, the head and deputy head of RKI’s BSL-4 laboratory, respectively.
Prof. Dr. Hanefeld stated that the main objective of the visit was to strengthen the partnership with Brazil, especially to develop the new BSL-4 lab. She stressed that RKI also has a BSL-4 facility for research as well as for public health applications, and added that she looked forward to learning more about Orion.
The first activity of the visit was an initial introduction by CNPEM Director General Antonio José Roque da Silva. He noted the importance of the partnership in developing the project and advancing research in global health. “The collaboration with the Robert Koch Institute goes beyond infrastructure: it involves the exchange of knowledge for operating Orion and scientific partnerships. Since the Robert Koch Institute already has a BSL-4 lab, this visit marked the exchange of expertise between the institutions to discuss details of how to organize and operate maximum biological containment facilities. This project will have a direct impact on Brazil’s capacity to deal with health crises and develop new strategies for diagnostics and treatment,” added the CNPEM director.
During the visit, the RKI’s representatives also introduced the CNPEM staff to the activities carried out at their institution. This event took place in the auditorium at the Ilum School of Science’s Learning Center, and included the presence of Maria Augusta Arruda, Director of the Brazilian Biosciences National Laboratory (LNBio), who participated in the discussions and contributed to the dialog with those in attendance.
Legend: During their visit to CNPEM, the representatives gave a presentation on the activities carried out at RKI to CNPEM staff in the auditorium at the Ilum Learning Center (Photo: Outreach/CNPEM)
In the afternoon, the RKI representatives toured several CNPEM facilities. Accompanied by specialists, they visited Sirius, which is operated by the Brazilian Synchrotron Light National Laboratory (LNLS), as well as the site where the Orion building will be constructed. The delegation also saw LNBio’s facilities and the CNPEM training lab, a faithful replica of biosecurity containment level 3 and 4 laboratory environments where the training program for work in high-containment spaces is currently being held.
Brazil and Germany
The agreement signed in Berlin in 2023 involved cooperation on multiple fronts ranging from planning and operations for Orion to joint studies and mobility and training for researchers. Orion’s BSL-4 lab will provide important infrastructure for investigating highly dangerous pathogens like the Sabiá virus, which is currently stored abroad since Brazil lacks the appropriate infrastructure to study it. Other arenaviruses in the same biological risk class also circulate in Latin America, like the Junín, Machupo and Guanarito viruses which cause severe hemorrhagic fever.
“The scientific contribution CNPEM is offering is very clear, and it is something completely new compared to other BSL-4 labs. If you put a BSL-4 [lab] in what we have here, Sirius, it opens up a whole new field of science. And I believe in the potential for this in South America, in Brazil, and it is something I’m really looking forward to seeing,” said Prof. Dr.. Hanefeld.
Frank Siejak and Prof. Dr. Andreas Kurth also highlighted the large-scale impact of the project that stems from connecting Orion to a synchrotron light source. “I believe that building a BSL-4 lab alongside Sirius will yield unprecedented information about viruses,” said Siejak. “Exploring these possibilities to research the structure of small, medium-sized and larger objects opens a door with millions of opportunities. And that is science,” added Prof. Dr. Andreas Kurth.
This collaboration with RKI reaffirms CNPEM’s commitment to state-of-the-art science and technology, positioning Brazil as a leader in responding to global public health challenges.
RKI
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) is the public health institute of Germany, and is responsible for control and prevention of infectious diseases and safeguarding public health. RKI is recognized internationally for its work in epidemiological research, and collaborates with other global health organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) and European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
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
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.
