Exciting News

Today, the Kansas Bioscience Authority, K-State, and the Department of Homeland Security announced that the Biosecurty Research Institute (BRI) in Pat Roberts Hall has been approved to being studying several of the indigenous or exotic agents that could potentially be fatal to animals and humans.

This is a big step towards the partnership with the NBAF that will work to protect our nation’s food supply, agricultural economy, and animal health. Experts agree that the most imminent threat to our security is through biological attacks. The research that the BRI and the NABF will conduct is crucial in addressing these threats.

Here are some highlights of the announcement:
“…Protecting the country against bio-terrorism is the mission of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility to be built in Manhattan, but state and national officials say they are going to get a jump start in the research. “‘The extent to which we can initiate some of that research to protect American agriculture now is very critical,’ Kansas Bioscience Authority President Tom Thornton said.

“The Biosecurity Research Institute run by K-State is a biosafety-level 3 and Thornton says of the eight pathogens NBAF scientists plan to research, five of them can be studied at the BRI, which is something they plan on doing…”

You can read more about this exciting announcment here and here.