The Secretary shall establish within the Office of Science a cross-cutting research initiative, to be known as the “Biological Threat Preparedness Research Initiative”, to leverage the innovative analytical resources and tools, user facilities, and advanced computational and networking capabilities of the Department in order to support efforts that prevent, prepare for, predict, and respond to biological threats to national security, including infectious diseases.

The Secretary shall carry out the initiative established under subsection (a) through a competitive, merit-reviewed process, and consider applications from National Laboratories, institutions of higher education, multi-institutional collaborations, industry partners and other appropriate entities.