U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases View Institution's Website 3 articles published in JoVE Immunology and Infection Utilization of Capsules for Negative Staining of Viral Samples within Biocontainment Candace D. Blancett1, Mitchell K. Monninger1, Chrystal A. Nguessan1, Kathleen A. Kuehl1, Cynthia A. Rossi2, Scott P. Olschner2, Priscilla L. Williams2, Steven L. Goodman3, Mei G. Sun1 1Pathology Division, United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), 2Diagnostic Systems Division, United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), 3Microscopy Innovations LLC This protocol provides instruction for negative staining virus samples which can easily be used in BSL-2, -3, or -4 laboratories. It includes the use of an innovative processing capsule, which protects the transmission electron microscopy grid and provides the user easier handling in the more turbulent environments within biocontainment. Neuroscience A High Content Imaging Assay for Identification of Botulinum Neurotoxin Inhibitors Krishna P. Kota1,6, Veronica Soloveva2,6,7, Laura M. Wanner3,6, Glenn Gomba4,6, Erkan Kiris3,5,6, Rekha G. Panchal6, Christopher D. Kane2,6,7, Sina Bavari6 1Perkin Elmer Inc., 2Henry M. Jackson Foundation, 3The Geneva Foundation, 4ORISE, 5Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, 6Division of Molecular and Translational Sciences, US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, 7DoD Biotechnology High Performance Computing Software Applications Institute (BHSAI), Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC), US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC) Botulinum neurotoxin is one of the most potent toxins among Category-A biothreat agents, yet a post-exposure therapeutic is not available. The high content imaging approach is a powerful methodology for identifying novel inhibitors as it enables multiparameter screening using biologically relevant motor neurons, the primary target of this toxin. Immunology and Infection Examining the Role of Nasopharyngeal-associated Lymphoreticular Tissue (NALT) in Mouse Responses to Vaccines Emily D. Cisney1, Stefan Fernandez1, Shannan I. Hall1, Gale A. Krietz1, Robert G. Ulrich1 1U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases Methods to examine contributions of the nasopharyngeal-associated lymphoreticular tissues (NALT) to nasal and systemic immune responses of mice to intranasal vaccines are described. We demonstrate a surgical procedure to establish a NALT-dependent mouse model and ex vivo cultures of extracted NALT.