BEI Resources was established by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to provide reagents, tools and information for studying Category A, B, and C priority pathogens, emerging infectious disease agents, non-pathogenic microbes and other microbiological materials of relevance to the research community. BEI Resources acquires authenticates, and produces reagents that scientists need to carry out basic research and develop improved diagnostic tests, vaccines, and therapies. By centralizing these functions within BEI Resources, access to and use of these materials in the scientific community is monitored and quality control of the reagents is assured