Sources: Ron Trewyn, 785-532-5110, trewyn@k-state.edu;
and Scott Rusk, 785-532-1333, jsrusk@k-state.edu
http://www.k-state.edu/media/mediaguide/bios/trewynbio.html
http://www.k-state.edu/media/mediaguide/bios/ruskbio.html
Pronouncer: Trewyn is true-en
News release prepared by: Katie Mayes, 785-532-6415, kmayes@k-state.edu
Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2008
Beefing up the BRI:
K-STATE'S BRI RECEIVES $1.548 MILLION FOR ADVANCED VIDEO TECHNOLOGY; WILL ALSO BE THE FIRST IN NATION TO HOST NEW FEDERAL BIOSAFETY TRAINING
MANHATTAN -- A $1.548 million investment from the Kansas Bioscience Authority and top-notch federal biosafety training are both coming to Kansas State University's BRI – Biosecurity Research Institute – this spring.
The Kansas Bioscience Authority's board of directors has approved $1.548 million in funding to add high-end video capabilities to the BRI's educational infrastructure. The grant will be used to purchase and install several high-resolution cameras in the BRI's integrated training suite, lecture hall and inside biosafety cabinets. All will have pan, tilt and zoom capabilities. Mobile video systems will also be purchased and used to transmit images from the research labs, providing value for both research collaboration and training. High-quality audio capture, editing and reproduction technology will also accompany the video capabilities.
This equipment will allow the BRI to produce and distribute professional-level training videos, as well expand its capabilities in the distance-training arena.
"We truly appreciate the Kansas Bioscience Authority's investment in K-State's BRI," said Ron Trewyn, vice president for research. "This will further enhance the institute's ability to offer relevant training programs with national impact."
When the BRI was built it was designed with both research and education in mind. Aside from roughly 30,000 square feet of research space, the institute also has 10,000 square feet dedicated to training and education. That space includes a large lecture hall and the integrated training suite, complete with a mock lab and classroom so that trainees can see firsthand the procedures they'll conduct in the lab.
"In addition to our advanced research space, the BRI's capacity to support the highest quality education and training programs related to biosafety and research activities sets it apart from other facilities currently in operation," said Scott Rusk, director of K-State's Pat Roberts Hall, home of the BRI.
"The integrated training suite and lecture hall allow for interactive learning and have the capability to bring ongoing research directly into the learning experience digitally," Rusk said.
It was these very technologies that also attracted a brand-new federal-level training program to the BRI this spring.
The BRI will be the first in the nation to host the National Biosafety and Biocontainment Training Program's biosafety and biocontainment curriculum. The designated site training is a recent initiative of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the Division of Occupational Health and Safety at the National Institutes of Health. The Frontline Foundation organizes the program, which will provide the latest in professional education to those who handle biohazardous materials in biocontainment laboratories.
"The NBBTP was impressed with K-State's bold foresight regarding the future of biosafety and the first-class research facility they constructed to support research and training," said Murray L. Cohen, president of the Frontline Foundation. "Because of the rapid growth in the number of high-containment research labs, there is a definite and desperate need for employee training of the highest caliber. The experiential opportunities for such training are currently very limited. The NBBTP, along with the BRI at K-State, hope to address that serious need at this inaugural designated training facility program."
The inaugural biosafety and biocontainment session of the National Biosafety and Biocontainment Training Program will be April 28-May 2. Registration information is available at http://www.nbbtp.org
"This program highlights K-State's growing role in keeping professionals in biosecurity and biosafety primed on the latest practices," Rusk said.