U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases

United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases
The USAMRIID logo
Active	1969–present
Country	United States of America
Branch	United States Army
Type	Medical R&D Command
Role	Medical research and development
Part of	United States biological defense program
Garrison/HQ	Fort Detrick, Maryland, U.S.
Motto(s)	"Biodefense Solutions to Protect Our Nation"
Commanders
Current commander	Colonel Thomas S. Bundt

The United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID; pronounced: you-SAM-rid) is the U.S Army’s main institution and facility for defensive research into countermeasures against biological warfare. It is located on Fort Detrick, Maryland and is a subordinate lab of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC), headquartered on the same installation.

USAMRIID is the only U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) laboratory equipped to study highly hazardous viruses at Biosafety Level 4 within positive pressure personnel suits.

USAMRIID employs both military and civilian scientists as well as highly specialized support personnel, in all about 800 people. In the 1950s and '60s, USAMRIID and its predecessor unit pioneered unique, state-of-the-art biocontainment facilities which it continues to maintain and upgrade. Investigators at its facilities frequently collaborate with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, and major biomedical and academic centers worldwide.

USAMRIID was the first bio-facility of its type to research the Ames strain of anthrax, determined through genetic analysis to be the bacterium used in the 2001 anthrax attacks.