Bacteriology research in the Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases (CBEID) addresses pathogens of medical importance that cause tropical and emerging infectious diseases. Many of these bacterial pathogens have the potential to be used as biological weapons and are therefore categorized by federal law as Select Agents. The bacterial pathogens studied at the CBEID can be divided into vector-borne and non vector-borne and are further differentiated by their extracellular and intracellular existence. Some of the agents under study infect wild and domestic animals and are responsible for emerging human zoonoses.
Bacterial pathogens under active investigation by Center faculty include arthropod-borne obligately intracellular pathogens such as Rickettsia and Ehrlichia spp. 
(Drs. Walker, Yu, Olano, McBride, Bouyer, Ismail, and Valbuena), and facultatively intracellular arthropod-borne pathogens including Yersinia pestis (Drs. Motin and Chopra) and Francisella tularensis (Drs. Eaves-Pyles and Klimpel). Investigations of non-vector-borne bacterial pathogens include Bacillus anthracis (Dr. Peterson), Burkholderia spp. (Drs. Estes and Torres), Helicobacter pylori (Dr. Reyes) and Leptospira (Dr. Klimpel), and represent another research focus within the CBEID. General areas of research activities and interests are pathogenesis (Drs. Walker, Olano, Peterson, Motin, Niesel, McBride, and Yu), protective immune mechanisms (Drs. Walker, Estes, Reyes, Ismail, Klimpel, and McBride), vaccine development (Drs. Walker, Stanberry, McBride, Niesel, Bouyer, and Yu) through the Sealy Center for Vaccine Development, molecular and immunodiagnostics (Drs. Walker, McBride, Olano, Yu and Ismail) and genomics (Drs. Luxon, McBride, Yu, and Walker).
Research projects by numerous CBEID faculty investigating bacterial pathogens are supported by a grant to the Western Regional Center of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases Research (WRCE). The WRCE was established by the National Institutes of Health in 2003 with the regional hub at UTMB. The mission of the WRCE is to advance research on agents designated as NIAID category A, B, and C priority pathogens based on the level of risk to public health and safety. Category A agents include Bacillus, Yersinia, Francisella; Category B agents include Rickettsia prowazekii; and Category C agents include other rickettsiae. Center researchers are developing treatments, vaccines, and diagnostic tests for agents of public health importance that could also be used as biological weapons.
Many of the bacterial pathogens under study in the CBEID require biosafety level 3 containment because these infectious agents may cause serious or potentially lethal diseases as a result of exposure by the inhalation route. Additional facilities for research on these agents will be available in the Galveston National Laboratory when it is completed in 2008. Training of graduate students and fellows is supported by both intramural and extramural (NIH and CDC) training fellowships on emerging infectious diseases.