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THE NABC FORUM

DATE:  Friday, September 26th, 2008
TIME:  1:15 - 2:30 pm
VENUE:  Waters Hall, Room 137
CO-SPONSORS:  Parallel Paths program, and the Frontier program

AGENDA:

1:15 - Welcome and introduction (Dr. Justin Kastner)
1:30 - Dr. Rosa Pawsey - “Damage problems to food materials in international sea transportation”
2:15 - Discussion and interaction
2:30 - End

Bio - Dr. Rosa Pawsey

Dr. Rosa Pawsey is the former director of London South Bank University’s Food Safety and Control MSc programme and author of Case Studies in Food Microbiology for Food Safety and Quality (Cambridge: Royal Society of Chemistry, 2002).

Dr. Pawsey offers a wealth of food safety experience through her consultancy to food businesses, world-wide travels connected with food transportation problems, advice provided to the insurance industry regarding food-transportation cargo claims, and investigation of quality problems in supply chains covering Antarctica, Europe, and Japan.  Dr. Pawsey was the 1992 recipient of the Leverhulme Fellowship. The Leverhulme Fellowship concerned food quality maintenance in international transportation and involved world-wide travel; Dr. Pawsey was awarded the distinction following world-wide travel and consultancy and study in Russia.  An author who has done much to promote the educational utility of case studies, Dr. Pawsey is a member of the UK Guild of Food Writers.

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Pre-lecture student workshop with Dr. Rosa Pawsey - Wed., 24 Sept, 5-6pm, 235 Coles Hall

Undergraduate and graduate students are invited to an interactive workshop with Dr. Rosa Pawsey, author and former director of London South Bank University’s Food Safety and Control Programme, and Dr. Justin Kastner.  Contact Julianne Jensby (jcjensby@k-state.edu) if you are interested in attending.

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THE NABC FORUM

DATE:  Thursday, September 4th 2008
TIME:  3:00 pm
VENUE:  KSU Union, Room 213
CO-SPONSORS:  K-State Dept of Geography and K-State Dept of Plant Pathology

AGENDA:

3:00 - 3:10 pm Introduction of the guest speaker
3:10 - 4:00 pm “Strategies for Safeguarding American Plant Resources” by Daniel A. Fieselmann
4:00 pm Questions

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Mr. Daniel Fieselmann is the current Chair of the Phytosanitary Alert System Panel for the North American Plant Protection Organization and the Chair of the Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) Safeguarding Review Steering Committee overseeing the contracted review of the PPQ pest exclusion, detection, and eradication activities.  He is presently overseeing agency implementation of recommendations.

To build upon K-State’s heritage of success in the agricultural and health sciences, the National Agricultural Biosecurity Center (NABC) Forum facilitates campus-wide, interdisciplinary interaction. At Forum gatherings, K-State faculty share activities, successes, and initiatives.  By gathering periodically, we hope to better perceive and pursue opportunities to advance the university’s agricultural and food security programs.

Since it was established in 2002, experts at Kansas State University’s National Agricultural Biosecurity Center have worked with a variety of state and federal agencies to examine exactly how well the agricultural and law enforcement sectors would work together in case of an animal disease outbreak. In Kansas, this work has involved the Kansas Animal Health Department, which would lead state response efforts in case of such an outbreak.

“The reality is that the introduction of a highly infectious animal disease, whether accidental or intentional, could cause economic chaos in Kansas,” said Marty Vanier, director of operations of the National Agricultural Biosecurity Center. “In Kansas, where agriculture is a primary economic driver, disease is a serious proposition. To not take an active role in finding ways to mitigate such an attack is shortsighted.”

The center has organized four wide-ranging preparedness exercises to test how well ranchers, veterinarians, law enforcement and various governmental agencies would work together in such an emergency. In all, the center’s expertise has been tapped for 13 exercises at the local, state, and national level. They have addressed scenarios from radiological contamination of the water supply to a nationwide outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.

But incident response planning and risk analysis are only part of the center’s mission. Other projects include:

* A $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service to evaluate the best and most efficient way to dispose of animal carcasses in case of a disease outbreak, and to look at how foreign animal and plant diseases might enter the country.

* An effort to upgrade the ability of K-State’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory to process numerous samples in case of a widespread animal disease outbreak. As a member of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network, the lab has incorporated high-throughput technologies like robotics to quickly process diagnostic samples in case of an outbreak.

* A multimillion-dollar research project for the Natick Army Soldier Systems Center, where K-State food scientists are evaluating methods to ensure that what soldiers eat and drink while deployed is free of pathogenic organisms or biological toxins.

* A U.S. Department of Defense project to create a system to gather information on animal disease and food safety in countries around the world. A Web-based tool to gather, categorize and put such data into context is being developed at K-State.

The National Agricultural Biosecurity Center was established partly in response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11, but evolved mostly out of K-State’s longstanding commitment to food safety and security. That commitment dates back to the university’s Homeland Defense, Food Safety, Security and Emergency Preparedness Program,” penned by university officials in March 1999.

Each project at the center often comes with significant funding from governmental agencies such as the Department of Defense, the Department of Agriculture’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service and the Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice.

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THE NABC FORUM

DATE: Friday, April 25, 2008
TIME: 3:00 pm.
VENUE: KSU Student Union, Room 209

AGENDA:

3:00 - 3:10 | Introductory comments by Drs. Marty Vanier and Curtis Kastner

3:10 - 3:50 | ‘KCARE: Research, Education, Extension, and Outreach Supporting Care for the Environment’ by Dr. W.L. Hargrove

3:50 | Questions

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W.L. Hargrove is Director of the Kansas Center for Agricultural Resources and the Environment (KCARE), and the Kansas Water Resources Institute, at Kansas State University.  As Director of KCARE, he coordinates environmental activities for K-State Research and Extension, develops projects and proposals for funding, and serves a liaison role with state government on environmental issues.  Current priority areas for research, education, and outreach include:  1) watershed management and water quality improvement in Kansas surface waters, especially protection of federal reservoirs; 2) prolonging the life of the Ogallala Aquifer through improved irrigation management; 3) air quality associated with beef cattle feedlots and agricultural burning, esp. particulate matter and ammonia emissions and their prevention/mitigation; and 4) the sustainability of bioenergy production and processing.  He was at the University of Georgia for 17 years before coming to K-State in 1997.  His research interests have included long-term no-tillage management, cover crop management, sustainable cropping systems, reclamation of degraded soils in the tropics, influence of agriculture on water quality, and agricultural
waste management He served as Temporary Assistant Provost at KSU in
2005, helping to create the Center for Engagement and Community Development.  He has extensive international travel and work experience in over twenty countries, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The BRI’s associate director, Scott Rusk, has advanced to become director of Pat Roberts Hall, while biosafety officer Julie Johnson has been promoted to assistant vice president for research compliance for K-State.

Rusk will coordinate facility validation, operational oversight and policy development to ensure that Pat Roberts Hall – which houses the BRI – is fully functional, and that the facilities are operating in accordance with applicable regulations and industry standards for working with the infectious disease research programs in the building. He will supervise support staff working in the facility and coordinate facility operations with research and education activities conducted in the BRI.

Rusk has more than 20 years of experience. Before coming to K-State in 2006, he was assistant center director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Animal Disease Center – the department’s largest animal disease research facility. He also worked as a biocontainment specialist for Flad and Associates.

In Johnson’s new role, she’ll continue as biosafety officer for the BRI, but will assume some universitywide duties, including biosafety oversight of high-containment research projects. A certified biological safety professional, she came to K-State in 2006 after more than 10 years as the campus biosafety officer at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, where she built a comprehensive biosafety program. As a Ph.D. molecular biologist, she also has extensive lab experience, which enables her to effectively implement safety policies and practices.

Rusk and Johnson also will lead the biocontainment and biosafety components of the BRI’s training and education programs.

Lisa Freeman, associate vice president of innovation for the K-State Olathe Innovation Campus, Inc., also will be acting director of the BRI. Former director James Stack has decided to dedicate more time to research and to pursue national and international opportunities that have come his way. Stack is director of the Great Plains Diagnostic Network and is a professor of plant pathology.

The BRI is the only research and training facility in the U.S. that can accommodate veterinary medicine, plant pathology, food safety and molecular biology research under one roof. This allows for a more comprehensive approach in researching threats to the nation’s food supply.

Pat Roberts Hall is a research facility as well as an advanced training and education facility, complete with an integrated training suite. That suite contains a simulated biosafety level 3 lab and classroom setting that allow for hands-on training. Marty Vanier, who oversees the day-to-day operations of the National Agricultural Biosecurity Center, will be working closely with the BRI to promote its integrated training suite.

Federal-level training sessions have started at the BRI, with research slated for this spring.

In her new role, Freeman will build public and private partnerships to benefit the Olathe campus and will act as a liaison between it and programs on the Manhattan campus impacted by those new relationships. She also will encourage an entrepreneurial culture on the Olathe campus and will facilitate the transition of research and ideas from the lab to the commercial marketplace.

“We are very fortunate to have attracted someone of Lisa Freeman’s caliber to help lead the K-State Olathe Innovation Campus,” said Dan Richardson, CEO of the Olathe campus. “Her experience working with both the public and private sector interests will be critical to the success of the campus. Her professional expertise and track record are a perfect match for the vision and mission of the campus.”

Freeman joined K-State’s department of anatomy and physiology in 1994, where she taught pharmacology. Since then, she has served as a research mentor and role model for postdoctoral students, clinical residents and young faculty members. In 2001 she was named director of mentored training and in 2005 became associate dean for research and graduate programs.

“Lisa has more than proven herself as a professor, mentor, researcher and administrator in the past 14 years with the College of Veterinary Medicine,” said Ron Trewyn, K-State vice president for research and chair of the Olathe campus board.

Freeman said she is looking forward to the challenges ahead.

“The Olathe innovation campus will serve as a bridge between K-State’s Manhattan campus and the academic and industrial resources in the greater Kansas City area,” she said. “I am looking forward to creating new programs for pre-college outreach, graduate education and professional development focused in the areas of animal health and food safety.”

Freeman will retain some of her prior responsibilities as an associate dean in the College of Veterinary Medicine, including supporting the research efforts of faculty and trainees and advancing the commercialization of intellectual property through interactions with the industry, government and commodity groups focused on innovation in animal health. In addition, Freeman also will help facilitate research programs at K-State’s BRI—Biosecurity Research Institute—which will include coordinating infectious disease research initiatives with other institutions.

The Biosecurity Advisory Committee, which will consist of nationally-known experts in containment laboratory operations, research and management, will provide K-State with an additional level of review and a long-term vision for the university’s high-level research programs.

The group’s first task will be to review the current and future programs at K-State’s BRI—Biosecurity Research Institute. The group will develop a plan to ensure the long-term sustainability of the institute, as well as review things like regulatory requirements and the BRI’s business plan.

“The BRI is one of the finest and most advanced biocontainment labs in the nation,” Franz said. “This group will help to ensure that the institute’s path forward is clear and that it has the resources needed to make it a valuable contributor to the safety and security of the nation’s agricultural economy and public health.”

While head of K-State’s National Agricultural Biosecurity Center, Franz directed a broad program in preharvest and postharvest biosecurity and strengthened K-State’s status in the public health and national security arenas. Franz has been and continues to serve as chief biological scientist at the Midwest Research Institute, where he develops business activities in the areas of biodefense education and preparation, nonproliferation, cooperative threat reduction and biosafety.

The BRI, which was established under Franz’ tenure at the National Agricultural Biosecurity Center, will begin hosting numerous federal-level biosafety training events this week. The institute is also gearing up for research in May. Since the building dedication, BRI officials have been busily preparing the facility for research. That preparation has included writing custom safety and security protocols, developing BRI-specific training modules, and testing and retesting the building to certify the performance of all critical systems.

“The BRI is an extremely complex facility and the research to take place there is of the utmost importance to the security of the U.S. agricultural infrastructure and food supply,” said Ron Trewyn, vice president for research. “K-State wants to ensure that the BRI’s research programs and biocontainment practices are second to none and that all aspects are subject to rigorous internal and external scrutiny. In Dave Franz, we’ve tapped one of the best and brightest minds in biosecurity to lead the charge.”

The Biosecurity Advisory Committee will also review the ongoing mission of the National Agricultural Biosecurity Center and other university biosecurity and associated biosafety initiatives.

For course details and registration information, click the link below.

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.

News release prepared by: Katie Mayes, 785-532-6415, kmayes@k-state.edu

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THE NABC FORUM

DATE: Friday, November 30, 2007
TIME: 3:00 pm.
VENUE: KSU Union, Room 212

AGENDA:

3:00 - 3:10 | Introductory comments by Drs. Marty Vanier and Curtis Kastner

3:10 - 4:00 | ‘Antibiotic resistance as a food-safety issue’ by Dr. Ludek Zurek

4:00 | Questions

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Dr. Zurek has a joint appointment in the Department of Entomology and the Department of Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology.  His research program focuses on microbial ecology, specifically ecology of food-borne and animal pathogens; ecology and horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance and virulence genes; and insect and mammalian gastro-intestinal microbial ecology.