OPPORTUNITIES IN THE UNITED STATES FOR TRAINING IN BIOTECHNOLOGY FOR PARASITIC DISEASE INVESTIGATIONS

SUMMARY

In the United States there are academic, governmental and industrial training opportunities in biotechnology that are applicable to the study of parasitic disease. Academic opportunities are the most plentiful. At least 130 universities in the Unites States have training programs in which current biotechnologies are being used to investigate parasites of economic or public health importance. Further, there are at least 70 centers of biotechnology in the United States. In these centers, many of which are located on university campuses, new biological techniques are being applied to both basic and applied research projects. The Unites States government administers more than 20 research programs that utilize current biotechnology to conduct parasitic disease research programs. These programs are conducted in or supported with resources of the following agencies: the Departments of Agriculture, Health and Human Services, Defense, and Interior, the Agency for International Development, the National Science Foun­dation, the National Academy of Sciences, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Commercial firms using biotechnological methods for production of biologicals and other reagents, provide an opportunity for on-the-job training and experience in the application of these new technologies to parasites diseases of major economic or public health importance.