The South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases (STCEID) was
established to focus state and national attention on UTSA in the fields
of molecular microbiology, immunology, medical mycology, virology and
microbial genomics. One of the major areas of emphasis at STCEID is on
the pathogenic mechanisms of emerging infectious diseases. Some
examples of emerging infectious diseases include cholera, AIDS, SARS,
Legionnaire’s disease, Lyme disease, most food-borne diseases, etc.
Also, under this description fall the potential biothreat
microorganisms that can be used for illicit purposes. Emerging
infectious and bioweapon-related diseases are currently some of the
greatest threats to human health.

The area of biodefense research has received tremendous
attention over the past few years in light of the dramatic events of
September 11, 2001 and the subsequent bioterrorist use of anthrax in
the attacks on Congress and news organizations. In response, the
government (primarily via NIH, as well as other funding agencies) has
allocated a significant level of funding for basic research on emerging
infectious diseases, including those with the potential to be used as
biological weapons, and for applied research focusing on the
development of vaccines and therapeutic agents for protecting the
public from emerging infectious diseases.

UTSA has assembled an impressive group of researchers who
specialize in the study of infectious diseases creating one of the
premier centers for this type of research in the nation. New
state-of-the art facilities and the diverse expertise of the faculty
belonging to the Center and The Department of Biology at UTSA provide
an excellent environment to answer several critical questions relating
to emerging and bioweapon-related diseases.

There is a palpable momentum in this field at UTSA as indicated
by a significant increase in federal funding for these areas of
research attracting top notch post-doctoral scholars, doctoral students
and other support staff who are critical to further expand the mission
of this Center. In addition, the facilities and faculty at the Center
serve a very important role in providing hands-on training to several
undergraduates who intend to pursue careers in science and technology
and thereby increase the pool of technical and scientific talent
available to cater to the demands of these emerging areas of science
and medicine. An undergraduate track in Microbiology within the
Department of Biology at UTSA has been developed and graduate level
training in Molecular Microbiology and Immunology is available within
the Cell and Molecular Biology Doctoral Program to meet the needs of
the students of South Texas and in the process expanding the
educational and research missions of UTSA.