The National Institutes of Health (NIH) CounterACT program fosters and supports research and development of new and improved therapeutics for chemical threats, including traditional chemical warfare agents, toxic industrial chemicals, and pesticides.

In Fiscal Year 2015, the following awards were made in the chemical defense medical countermeasures research area:

U01 Cooperative Research Awards

Blocking Arsenicals-induced Cutaneous Injury
Mohammad Athar, Ph.D. University of Alabama at Birmingham

Development of the Vitamin B12 Analog Cobinamide as a Hydrogen Sulfide Antidote
Gerry R. Boss, M.D. University of California San Diego

Bromine Inhalation Induced Lung Injury: Novel Mechanisms and Treatment Strategies
Sadis Matalon, Ph.D. University of Alabama at Birmingham

Molecular Imaging of Chemical Threats and Countermeasures
Charles M. Thompson, Ph.D. University of Montana Missoula

R21 Exploratory/Developmental Grants

Targeting the Glutamatergic System to Counteract Soman Toxicity in Immature Rats
Maria F.M. Braga, D.D.S., Ph.D. Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

Therapy for Ocular Mustard Gas Exposure Using Engineered FGF Derivatives
David D. Eveleth, Ph.D. E&B Technologies, LLC

Mechanisms and Countermeasures of Halogen-Induced Injury to Pregnant Mice
Sadis Matalon, Ph.D. University of Alabama at Birmingham

Amelioration of Soman-Induced Neuropathology with NAAG-related Compounds
Joseph T. McCabe, Ph.D. Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

Glutathione Monoesters to Counteract Ocular Chemical Injury
Vasilis Vasiliou, Ph.D. Yale University

Atropine for Chlorine Inhalation Toxicity
Livia A. Veress, M.D. University of Colorado, Denver

CounterACT is part of the U.S. Health and Human (HHS) Services Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise (PHEMCE), which coordinates medical countermeasure efforts across HHS and federal interagency partners. This NIH-led program includes a comprehensive network of Research Centers of Excellence, individual co-operative research projects, small business innovation research grants, contracts, and interagency agreements with the Department of Defense.