title: Bioterrorism and biological threats dominate federal health security research; other priorities get scant attention.
abstract: The federal government plays a critical role in achieving national health security by providing strategic guidance and funding research to help prevent, respond to, mitigate, and recover from disasters, epidemics, and acts of terrorism. In this article we describe the first-ever inventory of nonclassified national health security-related research funded by civilian agencies of the federal government. Our analysis revealed that the US government's portfolio of health security research is currently weighted toward bioterrorism and emerging biological threats, laboratory methods, and development of biological countermeasures. Eight of ten other priorities identified in the Department of Health and Human Services' National Health Security Strategy-such as developing and maintaining a national health security workforce or incorporating recovery into planning and response-receive scant attention. We offer recommendations to better align federal spending with health security research priorities, including the creation of an interagency working group charged with minimizing research redundancy and filling persistent gaps in knowledge.
authors.affiliation: RAND Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. sshelton@rand.org
authors.forename: Shoshana R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Shelton
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Connor
authors.forename: Lori
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Uscher-Pines
authors.forename: Francesca Matthews
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Pillemer
authors.forename: James M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Mullikin
authors.forename: Arthur L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Kellermann
mesh_terms: D054045:Biological Warfare Agents; D023482:Bioterrorism / Q000191:economics / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D011634:Public Health; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012637:Security Measures / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014481:United States; D014483:United States Dept. of Health and Human Services / Q000458:organization & administration
chemical_list: D054045:Biological Warfare Agents