USDA’s National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility Laboratorian Training Program students work in the training lab at Kansas State University’s Biosecurity Research Institute. Photo by Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine.
Written by Rebecca Donaldson
nbaf@usda.gov
NBAF Office of Communications
Website: usda.gov/nbaf/media
Manhattan, Kansas, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024 — The National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, or NBAF, Laboratorian Training Program, or NLTP, is in its fifth year of training the next generation of high-containment laboratory technicians.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at NBAF in partnership with Kansas State University is celebrating its fifth year of NLTP. Since 2020, NLTP also has expanded to add programs at Texas Tech University and Tuskegee University.
“I am very excited to say that the NLTP has been partnered with K-State for five years now,” said Lisa Pauszek, NLTP program manager and biologist training coordinator. “It was very exciting last year when K-State added a mosquito handling portion to their eight-week hands-on laboratory summer session.”
Students spend three weeks learning about high-containment laboratory safety through an online K-State course. Once completed, they spend eight weeks at K-State’s Biosecurity Research Institute, or BRI, learning hands-on skills, including laboratory benchwork, large animal handling and the recently added mosquito handling in the BRI’s mosquito rearing laboratory.
Dr. Dana Vanlandingham, Kansas State University NLTP director, has helped lead the K-State program since the beginning.
“The main purpose of the program is to expose students to various areas of research that require a BSL-3 facility,” said Dr. Vanlandingham. “One of our main areas of focus is to promote safe work practices.”
Each year, 10 undergraduate students and recent graduates are provided with opportunities to explore interests in a variety of disciplines.
“This program will be a great opportunity to help figure out what I want to do in the future and to see if I can envision myself in this role after college,” said Samantha Schwindt, NLTP participant and junior at K-State.
The primary goal of the course is to introduce students with an interest in working at high-containment facilities, like NBAF, to the basics of high-containment facilities, laboratory procedures and animal and mosquito handling. The course also promotes safe work practices including the use of personal protective equipment, or PPE, in a high-containment environment.
“It’s so cool to be in the environment that I want to work in and see the behind-the-scenes in the labs,” said Elisa Geranios, NLTP participant and May graduate from Pennsylvania State University.
In June, the group toured NBAF to learn more about the facility. They began with an introductory overview of NBAF before touring the facility support spaces, the Biologics Development Module and the containment spaces.
“I was really impressed by NBAF. It was exciting to see the containment spaces and learn about their systems. We also got to see the BSL-4 suits they will wear,” said Zachary Raymond, NLTP participant and junior at K-State. “I liked seeing the animal handling and the spaces where data will be analyzed in the lab.”
The program organizers believe the program is unique in how it provides in-person, hands-on learning experiences for the participants. Three students who have completed NLTP at K-State have been hired to work for NBAF.
“My hope for NLTP is that we will continue to address the needs of high-containment laboratories by training students in the proper ways of working in these environments,” said Pauszek. “Each time we expand to a new university is very exciting to see what they will add to the program.”
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The National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, or NBAF, is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.