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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.

Sources: Beth Montelone, 785-532-1333, bethmont@k-state.edu; and Ron Trewyn, 785-532-5110,
trewyn@k-state.edu
Biosecurity Research Institute: http://www.bri.k-state.edu/
News release prepared by: Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, 785-532-6415, ebarcomb@k-state.edu

Friday, Dec. 19, 2008

K-STATE'S BIOSECURITY RESEARCH INSTITUTE IN PAT ROBERTS HALL POSITIONED TO HOUSE FEDERAL RESEARCHERS BEFORE NBAF OPENS

MANHATTAN -- Thanks to a $54 million laboratory at Kansas State University, federal researchers won't have to wait for the opening of a new facility to expand their work studying important animal and zoonotic diseases, if Kansas is the record of decision for the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility next month.

Construction on the NBAF facility, which replaces the laboratories at Plum Island, N.Y., isn't expected to begin until 2010. However, researchers would have access to the university's $54 million comprehensive biosafety level 3 facility, the Biosecurity Research Institute housed in Pat Roberts Hall.

"K-State's focused efforts on U.S. agrosecurity began in 1999, and we proposed the need for the Biosecurity Research Institute back then," said Ron Trewyn, K-State's vice president for research. "The fact that the NBAF mission can be launched in the BRI in 2009 most assuredly weighed in Kansas being named the preferred alternative. It's in the nation's best interest to accelerate NBAF research."

The Biosecurity Research Institute provides scientists a secure location in which to study pathogens that threaten animal and plant-based agricultural systems, and to develop intervention strategies to minimize impacts on the nation's food supply and economy.

Beth Montelone, who directs the Biosecurity Research Institute, said the facility soon will undergo inspections by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the United States Department of Agriculture. After the inspection, the institute will be able to begin research on select agents.

"Suppose there's an outbreak of classical swine fever," she said. "Federal researchers could begin using our facilities."

Montelone said the federal government outlined eight foreign animal pathogens that it wants studied at the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility. The Biosecurity Research Institute could accommodate research on five of those diseases, Montelone said.

"Most of the required research could be done at the BRI," Montelone said. "In many cases, federal researchers are limited by space and the number of scientists. Here, they would be able to do research in a more modern facility."

The Biosecurity Research Institute opened in 2007. It offers 31,000 square feet of research space. The facility also includes a combined classroom-laboratory for hands-on interactive learning, a modern lecture hall that seats up to 50, and conference rooms with distance learning capabilities.

Montelone said these training features would benefit any federal researchers who planned to use the lab. To ensure that research is done safely, Montelone said scientists would first undergo training specific to the Biosecurity Research Institute.

"Nobody is going to come into the BRI without training, no matter how much experience they've had, because every facility is unique," she said.

The opportunities for federal researchers to collaborate with K-State scientists, the Colleges of Veterinary Medicine and Agriculture, human health facilities and animal health companies in the Kansas City Animal Health Corridor bolstered K-State's appeal as a site for the NBAF, Trewyn said.

"Animal health research was the leading selection parameter by the Department of Homeland Security review team, and we believe the livestock research assets at K-State and within the Heartland BioAgro Consortium were the decisive factor in being named the preferred alternative," Trewyn said. "Broad, nonpartisan support certainly helped, but Kansas has an equity stake in animal health. Investing in animal health pays huge dividends here."