Delegation from SBMT and researchers from FIOCRUZ visit Project Orion and highlight potential for partnerships to accelerate responses to public health emergencies
Group comprised of SBMT directors and representatives from FIOCRUZ was received by CNPEM Director General Antonio José Roque da Silva, who presented details of Project Orion to the delegation. (Photo credit: Outreach/CNPEM)
On March 26, a delegation comprised of directors of the Brazilian Society of Tropical Medicine (SBMT) and researchers from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ) toured the facilities at the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) and the future site of Project Orion, a laboratory complex for advanced pathogen research. Orion will include Latin America’s first maximum biological containment (BSL-4) labs, the first in the world connected to a synchrotron light source, Sirius.
The group was able to get a closer look at CNPEM’s scientific infrastructure and understand how the Center can contribute to effective responses to public health emergencies related to the tropical diseases that affect Brazil. These include annual outbreaks of dengue fever, which account for more than 2 million cases in epidemic years, and emerging threats such as the Oropouche virus, which has advanced in the Amazon region.
“SBMT’s visit to Orion is very significant, since this society brings together a large number of specialists in emerging and re-emerging diseases. It is important for these professionals to know about this new structure that will be available to Brazil’s scientific community—and where SBMT members should play an important role in the future,” said physician Maurício Nogueira, a professor at the University of São Paulo (USP), advisor to CNPEM and consultant on the Orion laboratory complex.
“Since its conception, the project has fostered dialogue among various stakeholders, strategic partners, and members of the academic community, addressing demands, core premises, and the experimental capabilities of Orion. The exchange of technical and scientific knowledge is one of its pillars,” adds Antonio José Roque da Silva, Director-General of CNPEM.
During the meeting, SBMT president Dr. Rosália Torres stressed that the visit reinforces the importance of bringing basic science closer to the real demands of public health in Brazil. She emphasized CNPEM’s potential to accelerate the development of solutions for diseases that still lack effective treatments, and defined Orion as a future “technological accelerator for research ideas,” since the infrastructure at Orion (like the other CNPEM facilities) will be open to the domestic and international scientific communities, further expanding possibilities for its use.
“Orion will provide countless opportunities to advance research, whether in diagnosis, treatment or vaccine development, as well as in the study of structures and ultrastructures. It opens up a vast spectrum of scientific investigation. I would say that Orion will be a real technological accelerator for research ideas. The fact that it is an open infrastructure is fundamental so researchers from all over the country can submit proposals, collaborate with the Orion team, explore possibilities and conduct their studies here. This will be essential for the advancement of science in Brazil,” added Torres.
Dr José Paulo Gagliardi Leite, a researcher at the Comparative and Environmental Virology Laboratory at FIOCRUZ, noted that Orion will be an unrivaled structure capable of expanding Brazil’s presence in the international arena. “This project represents a unique opportunity for the country to advance in significantly impactful scientific achievements. As researchers, we have a great responsibility: it is essential for us to be able to ask relevant scientific questions that lead to equally significant answers, with the potential to benefit not only science, but also the population of Brazil and the world,” he said.
During their visit, the delegation took part in a presentation led by CNPEM’s Director General. They next visited Sirius, the Brazilian particle accelerator, the construction site where the Orion building is being built, the National Biosciences Laboratory (LNBio), and the training laboratory that houses the High-Level Biosafety (BSL-3) Lab Training and Qualification Program, which is an accurate replica of BSL-3 and BSL-4 laboratories. The program ended with a visit to the National Nanotechnology Laboratory (LNNano).
SBMT
The Brazilian Society of Tropical Medicine (SBMT) is dedicated to researching and combating tropical and neglected diseases. It brings together a diverse group of researchers working in different knowledge areas such as medicine, veterinary medicine and biology. This diversity is essential to broaden the topics addressed by the organization and strengthen incentives for the research it promotes.
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).
