Skip to the content

Kansas State University

 

 

 

facebook

Join us on facebook

 

Check out K-State on YouTube

 

Media Relations
Kansas State University
9 Anderson Hall
Manhattan, KS 66506
785-532-6415
media@k-state.edu
Information provided by K-State Media Relations, K-State's news service, may be reproduced without permission. The marks and names of Kansas State University are protected trademarks and may not be used in any commercial or private endeavor without the approval of the university.

JERRY JAAX
Associate vice president for research compliance and
university veterinarian

 

Jerry JaaxFor terrorists looking to strike at the nerve center of this country's financial and military power, choosing either New York or Washington, D.C., as targets is a no-brainer.

Were a terrorist attack to occur on the heartland, the choice is not as clear-cut. Such an attack might not be against its people, but where it could inflict the most harm -- against its agricultural-based economy. According to Jerry Jaax, a bioterrorism attack could cripple the agricultural-based economy of the region. Jaax said a "significant risk" of such an attack does exist.

Jaax is Kansas State University's associate vice president for research compliance and the university veterinarian. He previously served 26 years with the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps. His assignments included chief of the veterinary medicine and laboratory support at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute for Chemical Defense at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., and chief of the veterinary medicine division at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, Md. He also served as director of the Army's postgraduate training program in laboratory animal medicine, and was the director of the Biological Arms Control Treaty Office at Fort Detrick, where he was responsible for overall compliance of the U.S. Army with all international biological warfare treaties and agreements.

Jaax was a key participant in dealing with the 1989 Reston Ebola outbreak as a U.S. Army veterinarian. The outbreak was detailed in Richard Preston's best-selling book, "The Hot Zone." Jaax received his B.S. and DVM degrees in 1972 from Kansas State University.

Jaax can be reached at 785-532-3224 or by e-mail jaax@k-state.edu.