Sources: Marty Vanier, 785-532-6193, mvanier@k-state.edu;
and Justin Kastner, 785-532-4820, jkastner@k-state.edu
http://www.k-state.edu/media/mediaguide/bios/vanierbio.html
http://www.k-state.edu/media/mediaguide/bios/kastnerbio.html
News release prepared by: Katie Mayes, 785-532-6415, kmayes@k-state.edu
Monday, Nov. 19, 2007
K-STATE'S NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL BIOSECURITY CENTER SOLICITS INTERDISCIPLINARY SOLUTIONS TO MATTERS OF AGRICULTURAL BIOSECURITY
MANHATTAN -- When you're dealing with the safety of a nation's food supply, it often takes a number of perspectives to develop a comprehensive plan.
That multidisciplinary approach is at the heart of all that Kansas State University's National Agricultural Biosecurity Center does as it works to protect America's agricultural infrastructure and economy from the threat of disease.
One way the center taps into a variety of perspectives is by holding a monthly forum to discuss a topic having to do with agricultural biosecurity. Presentations to date have been from the university disciplines one might expect -- such as the center itself and the Food Science Institute -- to those one might not think of, including computer science, geography and journalism.
"The forum is designed to bring people from across campus together to lend their perspective, and pick apart the complex issues facing agricultural biosecurity today," said Marty Vanier, associate director of the National Agricultural Biosecurity Center. "From this office we try to reach out and touch everyone and anyone on campus and ask them for help."
The next forum will be at 3 p.m. Friday, Nov. 30, in Room 212 of the K-State Student Union. It will feature K-State's Ludek Zurek on antibiotic resistance and food safety. Zurek, who has a joint appointment in the departments of entomology and diagnostic medicine and pathobiology, studies microbial ecology, particularly the ecology of food-borne and animal pathogens, the ecology and transfer of antibiotic resistance and virulence genes, and the insect and mammalian gastrointestinal microbial ecology.
"Antibiotic resistance is an ongoing concern when it comes to a safe and reliable food supply for the U.S.," Vanier said. "Dr. Zurek will explain in detail why this development is so important and what critical steps are needed to keep the nation's food supply safe. The hope is that other disciplines from the university can bring different perspectives on what needs to be done to bolster our defenses."
Each forum gives faculty and staff from across the university a chance to hear about a particular aspect of agricultural biosecurity, and to offer their own professional insight into how to resolve the problems.
"At the center we're not just talking about being interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary, we're doing it," Vanier said. " We're talking the talk and walking the walk."
The forum is open to the public. For more information, contact Justin Kastner at jkastner@k-state.edu or 785-532-4820.