PNNL

As a biodefense expert, Kristin Omberg was in a unique position when a novel coronavirus began spreading. While the outbreak kept government agencies charged with healthcare fully engaged, the U.S. Department of Energy asked Omberg to fill in a gap on the technology side of the emerging pandemic. By comparing the 100-plus commercial coronavirus test kits, her group provided valuable information for first responders and hospitals for early detection and diagnosis.

"Every manufacturer of a test evaluates their own, and nobody's looked at them head-to-head," Omberg said. "We also helped first responders figure out what alternatives they could use if they were having a tough time getting some of the supplies."

Before the pandemic, Omberg had long been interested in threats of disease outbreaks or bioweapons. The threat of pandemics and national emergencies led Omberg to try to make sense out of the National Response Framework, a plan of action that crosses 13 federal agencies and covers at least 3,000 pages of documents. "We wondered, could we use some of the visualization tools that we use for science data? Because in science, we have so much data that you don't want to look at line by line," she said. Using software that analyzed and visualized the framework documents, they created an online tool called B-PLAT 2.0 that officials can use to sort out directives and sections of code that protect against potential attacks, disasters, or infectious diseases.

Omberg leads a group trying to define pathogen and poison signatures: chemical or biological fingerprints that enable scientists to detect and track germs and toxins. These signatures will allow her to follow opioids such as fentanyl in the environment, where little is known about how long they persist and whether they will work their way up the food chain.

Omberg is a fellow of the American Chemical Society and conducts reviews for journals such as Health Security. She has participated in ACS xbriefings for Congress.

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PNNL Staff Biography

Watch Kristin Omberg talk about biological attacks like anthrax and the complexities of U.S. policies that target them, on Northwest Science Media Workshop. (4:11)