Basic Research and Supporting Science Division (CBS)

Mission is to provide a robust fundamental knowledge base for countering current and future Chemical and Biological (CB) threats through scientific discoveries leading to technological breakthrough. This is accomplished through two components, Basic Research and Threat Agent Science.

Basic Research: Provides basic research to address knowledge gaps within the CB community and looking for revolutionary science to provide better safety, security and protection for the Warfighter.

• Life Sciences: Provides innovative basic research in the life sciences of Biology and Bio-inspired Sciences to investigate pathophysiology, molecular signatures, mechanisms of action, recognition, catalysis and biomimetics in WMD science and support the applied research programs in countermeasure development, detection and decontamination for use in the protection of the Warfighter.
• Physical Sciences: Provides innovative basic research in the physical sciences of Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics, leading to transformational capabilities in CB threat detection, protection, and decontamination, with the intent to significantly enhance warfighter performance, protection, and comfort.
• Information Sciences: Provides innovative basic research in the information sciences to include mathematics, modeling and bioinformatics in WMD science and support the applied research programs with the intent to provide decision support capabilities for effectively operating in a CB contaminated environment.

Threat Agent Science: Provides fundamental scientific understanding of CB threat agents with specific attention to information gaps or requirements pertinent to the DoD, DHS, and other Intelligence Agencies.

• Physiological Response: Provides experimental and computational toxicological and/or infectious-dose data that informs operational risk and exposure guidelines; limits for detection and protection; goals for decontamination; and medical countermeasures.
• Environmental Response: Examines critical characteristics of chemical and biological warfare agents beginning with fundamental properties and subsequently determines the challenge level of hazard to the Warfighter within operationally relevant environments supporting development of physical and medical countermeasures and inform decision support tools.

Tech Watch Program: A technical forum for innovative science to gain visibility from the DTRA CB community.