International Science Assistance
As scientific research progresses, the scientific community gains greater ability to manipulate the basic functions of life. The capabilities that will soon be in the hands of humanity include the subtle manipulation of behavior, the modulation of pathogenicity and even the de novo creation of new forms of life. To ensure that biosafety measures continue to reduce the risk from accidental or intentional misuse of biology, we must be able to consider how cutting-edge advances in the life sciences brings new capabilities to scientists trying to improve the human condition and our adversaries willing to harness any technologies to attack us. Our in-depth understanding of biotechnology, based on our years in academic, industrial and government laboratories, enables Gryphon Scientific to produce thoughtful and actionable guidance on how to reduce the risk of the misuse of technology without fettering legitimate research.Example Projects
Evaluating Protein Detection Kits for Use in Responding to Biological Events
As an Abt Associates' employee, Rocco Casagrande and his staff evaluated technologies usable by first responders when assessing the threat posed by suspicious "white powders" that may be a biological agent or a hoax. To do this, we first identified and acquired relevant technologies, even those not marketed for this purpose. We then developed a standardized testing matrix for the kit, which included stimulants to test against, quantity of replicates and definitions of positive and negative readings. After the experiments were performed by a subcontracting laboratory, our staff analyzed the data. The six kits that performed best in the laboratory were taken into field tests to ensure that personnel without scientific backgrounds could use the kit in the field.
Providing Research Utilization Support to the National Institute of Justice
For the U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, while employed with Abt Associates, Joan Mullen, who is now the Managing Partner of Gryphon Scientific, led a series of Research Application contracts to develop analytic studies and publications written for non-scientific law enforcement and criminal justice practitioners.The Institute disseminated as many as 30,000 copies of each report to policymakers, practitioners and researchers nationwide, totaling over one million copies over the life of the research application effort. The purpose of the contract was to bridge the gap between criminal justice practitioners and the research community to ensure that program development in key areas was informed by relevant research findings and that researchers clearly understood the needs of practitioners and policymakers.
Under this series of contracts, the project team conducted short-term, highly cost-effective formative evaluations of a wide range of emerging policies and practices. These typically summarized the state-of-practice and research, defined the key issues, identified and described what appeared to be best practices, identified barriers to effective implementation and replication, and defined the research agenda. The project team also developed designs for conducting rigorous tests of the effectiveness of selected programs and developed replication guides based on the results of field test experiences. Mullen served as the overall Project Director for over 20 years, and authored numerous reports on practices ranging from the privatization of corrections facilities to less than lethal weapons technology.
Supporting a Nationwide Crime Prevention Campaign
As an Abt Associates' employee, Gryphon's Managing Partner, Joan Mullen, provided extensive support to the National Advertising Council in the development of a nationwide crime prevention campaign for the National Institute of Justice. Through focus groups conducted with the Ad Council, an icon for the campaign, a dog named McGruff, was selected to convey the campaign's messages which were drawn from the crime prevention literature. Under Joan's supervision, collateral materials were also developed to support McGruff's public service announcements by providing information on effective crime prevention tools and techniques.
Reviewing Applications of Biotechnology for the Control of Illegal Logging
For a National Institute of Justice contract with Abt Associates, we reviewed technological means to identify, prevent or assess the impact of illegal logging. In this study, we highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of currently available technology and pointed to promising research opportunities that could lead to improved capabilities in the future.
Modeling the Impact of Changes in Sentencing Practices on Prison Populations
A project funded by the National Institute of Corrections to Abt Associates, Abt Associates staff, now employed by Gryphon Scientific, supervised the development of a model demonstrating the impact of changes in sentencing practices on prison populations, producing a tool that allowed corrections authorities to understand the consequences of introducing sentencing alternatives. This software was a simple spreadsheet model that was distributed free-of-charge to federal and state corrections departments.
Evaluating Telemedicine Strategies
For the National Institute of Justice, Tracor Systems Technologies implemented a telemedicine study in three federal prisons in Pennsylvania to determine if health care could be improved at a lower cost. As a subcontractor, Abt Associates conducted an evaluation of the impact of the demonstration under the supervision of Joan Mullen, now Managing Partner of Gryphon Scientific. The evaluation compared patterns of health care utilization before and after the demonstration; utilization at the demonstration prisons was also compared with that observed in other federal prisons during the same period. Concluding that a prison telemedicine network can reduce costs and improve correctional healthcare, the Federal Bureau of Prisons decided to implement the technology more broadly in the federal prison system.