Facility Research & Staffing for the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility

Diseases of Interest

The following diseases have currently been defined by the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as possibilities for study at the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF):

• Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD)
• Classical Swine Fever (CSF)
• African Swine Fever (ASF)
• Rift Valley Fever (RVF)
• Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP)
• Japanese Encephalitis (JE) virus
• Nipah Virus
• Hendra Virus

Descriptions of these diseases are available; this list may change based upon continued threat assessments and risk assessments.

Research Focus

Researchers would focus on developing tests to detect the diseases and countermeasures to prevent the disease. In some cases, we would be studying the disease itself to determine:

• what mechanism it uses to enter the animal,
• what type of cell the disease affects,
• what effects the disease causes on the cells ,
• how to develop countermeasures to help the animal develop protection against the disease, and
• how quickly the animal can become protected from the disease.

By knowing what type of cell the disease affects we are able to develop a test to more accurately and quickly determine if the animal is suffering from that specific disease.

Agency Responsibilities

NBAF is owned by the Department of Homeland Security with the Department of Agriculture's Agriculture Research Service (USDA-ARS) and Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services (USDA-APHIS-VS) as our primary partners. These same agencies are currently working in the Plum Island facility.

The Department of Health and Human Services and other agencies may also have space in the facility, in case of some event where the researchers would wish for a particular agency’s assistance or an event dictates a particular agency needs additional assistance.

The Departments of Homeland Security and Agriculture work cooperatively to set priorities regarding diseases to be researched. They use a variety of risk assessments, gap analysis and intelligence gathering in order to establish the priorities.

ARS functions to perform the early research and transition prospective candidates for countermeasure development to Homeland Security. The Department of Homeland Security further develops these candidates and transitions them to commercial partners for complete development and hand off to APHIS for use in the National Veterinary Stockpile. The Department of Homeland Security, ARS and APHIS work to develop diagnostic tools that can be utilized in the reference and state laboratories.

Once developed, APHIS is responsible for validating the new assays/tools and deploying them to the National Animal Health Laboratory Network. APHIS is also responsible for operating the Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory for diagnosis of Foot and Mouth disease and other high consequence Foreign Animal Diseases as well as training veterinarians in the Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostician's school.

Staffing

Generally there would be between 250 and 350 employees at the facility. This number includes researchers, technical support and operations specialists.

Consortium Role

The consortium would be an enabling factor in helping NBAF conduct its mission but would not have a direct role in the overall operations. The consortium would provide access to:

• a vibrant research area for collaboration with NBAF researchers (such as veterinary diagnostic laboratories, or the state veterinary office);
• a trained workforce with graduate and post doctoral students,
• collaborations with consortium students and faculty working at NBAF;
• continuing education and sabbatical opportunities for NBAF researchers.