UTMB was awarded funds that it will use toward fighting bioterrorism. UTMB, Maryland-based Profectus Biosciences Inc., Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corp. of British Columbia and the Vanderbilt University Medical Center received up to $26 million by the National Institutes of Health to advance treatments of the highly lethal hemorrhagic fever viruses known as Ebola and Marburg. Ebola and Marburg are considered to have the most potential to be used in a deadly bioterrorism attack, causing mass casualties and producing devastating effects to the economy. UTMB’s Thomas Geisbert is a researcher at its Galveston National Laboratory. “This research impacts public health in areas where the viruses are endemic, but also presents opportunities in the biotechnology sector to develop treatments for people that visit these areas, such as tourists, or soldiers — anyone who may face these threats,” Geisbert told HBJ. The news also appears in the Houston Chronicle and BioNews Texas, among other outlets.