In an era defined by complex global challenges, the importance of robust biodefense and national security measures cannot be overstated. Through our ‘One Health’ approach, we leverage existing capabilities to tackle known and emerging biological threats, chemical contaminants, and other hazards. Take a deep dive into this topic and more on our latest “Meet the Mission“ episode, where we cover our role in biodefense and biosecurity in an ever changing world.

Episode Overview

This episode features Kyle Braaten, VP and Business Development Lead for Threat Reduction and Remediation, who discusses Parsons’ work in biodefense and national security. The podcast covers a range of topics, including:

• 0:00 – Meet the Mission Introduction: A brief introduction to the podcast and its mission.
• 2:00 – Speaker Introduction & Background: An introduction to Kyle Braaten and his background in the field.
• 8:40 – Ice Breaker: A lighthearted segment where Kyle shares his must-have gadget (besides his smartphone).
• 12:30 – Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC) Contract: A detailed explanation of the NMRC contract and Parsons’ successful recompete.
• 14:20 – Advancements in the Re-compete Contract: A discussion of the advancements and considerations involved in the re-compete contract, including the development of devices to identify infectious diseases and Parsons’ role as a technology integrator.
• 19:05 – Importance of Early Detection: An explanation of why early detection is crucial in biodefense.
• 21:45 – Parsons’ Broader Biodefense Initiatives: An overview of how Parsons supports broader biodefense initiatives globally.
• 27:40 – The Evolution of Parsons’ Role: Insights into how Parsons’ role is evolving in response to increasingly complex threats.
• 29:50 – Exciting Developments in Health and Biodefense: A look at what’s exciting in the health and biodefense space. This includes investments in AI and edge computing for wastewater, leveraging next-gen humanoids.
• 33:20 – What Sets Parsons Apart: A discussion of Parsons’ unique culture, long-tenured employees, focus on innovation, and open communication.
• 35:40 – Advice for Entering the Biodefense Space: Kyle Braaten shares advice for those interested in pursuing a career in biodefense.
• 39:28 – Passion for Biodefense: Kyle discusses what excites and inspires him about the biodefense space.
• 42:40 – Join the Team: Information on career opportunities at Parsons.

Key Takeaways

Parsons Role In Biodefense

In this episode, Kyle highlights Parsons’ significant contributions to biodefense and national security. He covers our main areas of focus in the biodefense sector, which are expanding knowledge to address gaps and anticipate priorities, delivering solutions in health and biosciences, biosecurity and biodefense, health information technology (IT)/analytics, and research support services.

Technology Integration

We play a crucial role in integrating technology to support client missions, developing advanced devices for infectious disease detection, and adapting to evolving global threats. The discussion also emphasizes the importance of early detection in biodefense and the exciting potential of AI and other emerging technologies in this field.

Company Culture

Additionally, Kyle reiterates Parsons’ strong company culture, which fosters innovation, longevity, and employee empowerment, much of which is due to strong company leadership.

Its not uncommon to see people who have been at this company for 20 to 30 years. There is always the element of doing something new and exciting. At Parsons, we have a great culture of being heard. – Kyle Braaten, VP and BD Lead for Threat Reduction and Remediation at Parsons

With proven, best-in-class resources and people, Parsons is leading the charge for a healthy and safe world.

Tune In and Join The Conversation

DonтАЩt miss out on this opportunity to explore the future of technology with us! Subscribe to тАЬMeet The MissionтАЭ on YouTube or Spotify and stay tuned for new episodes released monthly.

The post From Pathogen Detection to Public Safety: Our Role In Biodefense appeared first on Parsons Corporation.

The Ottawa Hospital (TOH) provides regional health care services to the greater Ottawa and Eastern Ontario region, Western Quebec and Nunavut, with a vision, тАЬto provide each patient with the world-class care, exceptional service and compassion we would want for our loved onesтАЭ. To this end, TOH has embarked on a notable hospital investment plan and has retained Parsons directly to assist in realizing this vision.

Located on the heart of CanadaтАЩs Capital on 20 hectare (50acre) site, TOH is developing a new regional health care centre that in their own words will include, тАЬa new state-of-the-art health care facility and academic research centre that will support our leadership to reshape the future of health care, train the next generation of health care workers and expand our support for the discovery of new life-changing researchтАЭ. The site is served by the City of OttawaтАЩs light rail transit (LRT) line for which our team had led the early planning and design of for the City. The site is also located on federal leased lands surrounded by DowтАЩs Lake, the historic Rideau Canal, and the Central Experimental Farm. The campus will host 6,000 workers employed in health care delivery, research, and associated activities. The new hospital will feature highly specialized inpatient, outpatient, emergency, and trauma services, and provide more than 600 beds to the hospitalтАЩs portfolio.

Our team is providing fundamental urban planning, environmental planning, transportation planning, and civil engineering services to assist in TOH, their management consultants (GBA), and their architects (HDR) in the development of this site. We completed the projectтАЩs early development feasibility studies that examined urban planning policies, on-site environmental conditions, cultural heritage, transportation networks, and municipal servicing requirements. Next we played a key role on the projectтАЩs master planning team, and helped evolve the physical plan. We then assisted the hospital to navigate the myriad of municipal, provincial, and federal approvals required to move towards project implementation.

Now that a constructor has been retained by TOH, we are currently providing detailed engineering designs for on and off-site roadways and municipal services, and we are providing compliance auditing, site inspections, and engineering services during construction. Construction on an early phase broke ground in 2023, and the main hospital itself with be under construction in 2025.

This project showcases the broad, multi-disciplinary service offerings of our team that has been based in Ottawa since 1955. Our relationships with all levels of government, and our experiences on thousands of planning and engineering assignments in the Capital were harnessed by the hospital to help advance their once-in-a-generation $2.8 B investment plan. We are so very proud to be supporting TOH every step of the way towards project completion in 2028.

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At Parsons, we pride ourselves on moving quickly and getting ahead of major threats. When COVID-19 first emerged, our global footprint provided an early warning that our future would drastically change.

After transitioning 90 percent of our team to remote working, we began focusing on how to help the world battle the pandemic and emerge stronger than before.

For us, COVID-19 amplified the hot bed of innovation that we live in every day. The virtual shift forced us to think differently, resulting in innovative technology that reimagines the future and delivers a better world. From early detection, to joint all-domain command and control solutions that protect our nation’s warfighters and essential employees, to comprehensive global health solutions тАУ our creativity was unlocked.

That said, the pandemic has exposed weaknesses that our world wasnтАЩt equipped for, primarily the need for rapid, trusted, scalable health solutions that can quickly assess, inform, and manage the spread of infectious diseases, while instilling confidence in the health and safety of our communities.

Which is why we are proud to announce the formation of our new Health & Biosciences business, a purpose-designed group of experts, technology, and products focused on keeping the world safe from emerging bio-threats.

The Health & Biosciences group will leverage proven, best-in-class resources, capabilities, and expertise from across our enterprise to focus on areas in which we can make an immediate impact, like disease surveillance, monitoring and detection; public health and medical situational awareness, and decision support; and research, development, testing, and evaluation.

We started with environmental problems, remediating munitions and chemicals, including emerging contaminants like PFAS, that we continue today for the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of the Army, and the Air Force. Our decades of innovative health solutions and services include infectious disease research and testing support for the U.S. Army Medical Research Command, Naval Health Research Center, and Naval Medical Research Center and program management support to all major DoD medical organizations, including the Department of Veterans Affairs and individual branch medical services. As new threats to human health and safety emerge, we will continue to adapt and innovate to address them.

Foundational to the Health & Biosciences group is DetectWise, a suite of touchless kiosks that provide attestation, screening, testing, authentication, and health monitoring in high-traffic areas to minimize disease transmission risk and maximize the safety of customers, passengers, and employees. These kiosks work in conjunction with modular rapid testing centers, essentially building a web of protection that gives people peace of mind as they move through highly trafficked areas.

Best of all, our DetectWise product is scalable, turning a weak point today тАФ keeping sick people from entering enclosed, dense environmentsтАФ into a strength in the future. The kiosks currently have been built to screen health symptoms on a software-enabled system that can easily be adapted to detect other diseases in the future. When the next disease of global concern hits, protecting individuals might be as simple as updating the software.

DetectWise is currently being leveraged across North America in the education, aviation, healthcare, and retirement industries, within the Department of Defense, and in several corporate offices.

As the world continues its response to the pandemic, weтАЩre excited to continue delivering innovative technology that supports global health and creates a better future.  

The post Creating A Healthier Future appeared first on Parsons Corporation.

From 1948 to 2004, owners of the Giant Mine in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, extracted more than 7 million ounces of gold. These riches left behind significant contamination тАУ as much as 237,000 tons of arsenic trioxide dust, as well as large amounts of arsenic contaminated tailings and soil. What began as one of CanadaтАЩs richest gold mines soon became one of the largest environmental remediation projects in the country.

Parsons has worked with the Government of Canada to contain and manage the arsenic trioxide and protect human and environmental health and safety at the site since 2013. As part of the Site Stabilization Plan, the company removed more than 10,000 tons of arsenic trioxide from the mineтАЩs roaster complex.

As contaminated materials were removed, remaining building components were sprayed with a glue sealant, making the highly contaminated area safe until further remediation efforts could be completed.

The final remediation phase will include continuing efforts to contain the remaining arsenic trioxide at the site through an innovative freezing system. Using thermosyphons, heat will be extracted from the ground using the passive heating and cooling cycle of carbon dioxide.

The chambers holding the contaminants will be surrounded by thermosyphons, freezing the ground to create a frozen shell that prevents contaminant release into the surrounding groundwater.

Thermosyphons are typically used to stabilize building foundations in the far North, but the project team will be utilizing this technology in a novel way тАУ to freeze and secure thousands of tons of arsenic trioxide,тАЭ said Greg Sutherland, Vice President, Canada Environmental, Parsons. тАЬThe project team is anticipated to use approximately 700 thermosyphons to contain all 15 chambers, far more than the two or three used on most foundation stability projects.тАЭ

The remediation project also includes covering arsenic contaminated tailings; backfilling several open pits; construction and operation of a water treatment plant; and excavation and relocation of over one million cubic meters of contaminated soil.

When the project is completed, Giant Mine will undergo an adaptive management phase to verify that all objectives тАУ including safeguarding the health and safety of the people and the surrounding environment тАУ are met. An additional operations, surveillance and maintenance stage will include ongoing water treatment and monitoring at the site.

Learn more about our remediation work:                                                 Giant Mine Contract Extension | Giant Mine Project Phase 1 

The post Safeguarding Health And Safety At CanadaтАЩs Giant Mine appeared first on Parsons Corporation.