DHS Science and Technology Chemical and Biological Division

According to the DHS S&T website, the Chemical and Biological Division of Homeland Security Science and Technology "works to increase the United State's preparedness against chemical and biological threats through improved threat awareness, advanced surveillance and detection, and protective countermeasures."

The division is currently led by John Vitko. It is supervised by the Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Science and Technology, currently being Jay M. Cohen.

The 2007 High Priority Technical Needs Brochure published by Homeland Security defines critical focus areas for Chemical and Biological research, falling primarily under the category of "chemical/biological weapons defense":


 * Tools to detect and mitigate animal disease breakouts
 * Policy net assessments to provide fresh perspectives on fundamental elements of the national biodefense strategy
 * Improved tools for integrated CBRN Risk Assessment
 * Incident characterization capability for response & restoration
 * Improved ChemBio Forensic Analysis capability
 * National-scale detection architectures and strategies to address outdoor, indoor (e.g., highly trafficked transportation hubs) and critical infrastructure
 * Consequence assessments of attacks on chemical facilities and Chem Bio attacks on other critical infrastructure
 * Integrated CBRNE Sensor Reporting capability
 * Handheld rapid biological and chemical detection systems
 * Detection paradigms and systems for enhanced, emerging and novel biological threats