DARPA espouses benefits of new program to quickly detect pathogens

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) officials are espousing the potential benefits of new technology to quickly address endemic, emerging and engineered pathogenic threats.

The organization’s newest biotechnology funding opportunity, the Detect It with Gene Editing Technologies (DIGET) program, could help the Department of Defense maintain force readiness by informing rapid medical response to increase the standard of care for troops. It could also preserve geopolitical stability by preventing the spread of infectious disease from becoming a driver of conflict.

“DARPA is pursuing the capability to detect and characterize any pathogen, regardless of when or where it emerges,” Renee Wegrzyn, the DIGET program manager, said. “There are three primary reasons that we think gene editing systems can help us realize that vision and they boil down to speed, accuracy, and precision.”

Wegrzyn said gene-editing systems are programmable. Their extreme sensitivity means they can identify pathogenic targets even when those targets are present in very low abundance and they can be both broad and specific – meaning a user might confirm the presence of influenza or identify a specific flu strain.

The DIGET goal, officials said, is to provide comprehensive, specific and trusted information about health threats to medical decision-makers within minutes. It’s also designed to prevent the spread of disease, enable timely deployment of countermeasures and improve the standard of care after diagnosis.

DARPA is hosting a Proposers Day meeting on December 11 in Atlanta to provide interested researchers with additional details.