NBAF UPDATE: Continuing a Legacy
By Katie Pawlosky, National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility Communications Director, November 2022
Earlier this month, I had the unique and long-awaited opportunity to visit the Plum Island Animal Disease Center in New York to help celebrate its 68th anniversary. I have been talking about the legacy this facility and its team have created for nearly three years but seeing the island in person and hearing about the many accomplishments that resulted from the work there was both awe-inspiring and humbling.
From better understanding pathogens to developing diagnostics and vaccines, the team at Plum Island has protected the nation’s livestock from foreign animal diseases that threaten the U.S. food supply. With a longstanding tradition of scientific excellence, Plum Island’s contributions in foot-and-mouth disease, African swine fever, classical swine fever, and other diseases are recognized around the world.
It takes a united vision and many people’s dedication and hard work to keep Plum Island operating each day, just like it will at the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, or NBAF, here in Manhattan. Just to get to the main Plum Island facility, it takes ferry operators and bus drivers — not to mention security personnel. But I have to say, the ferry ride from Connecticut is breathtaking. At least it is on fair weather days, which we happened to get for our visit (phew)!
With Plum Island reaching the end of its estimated lifespan, NBAF is honored to continue and build on this legacy. And just as it does there, it will take the work of many — more than 400 fulltime employees plus contractors — to keep the wheels in motion so our diagnostic, training, and research teams can continue protecting our food supply, agricultural economy and public health.
As an example, NBAF’s largest team, the facilities unit, is responsible for the operations and upkeep of the unique spaces and systems on the NBAF campus. This unit ensures every system at NBAF operates at peak performance. Jeff Brakke, NBAF’s acting supervisory engineer and facilities unit director, gives insight to how intricate and essential the facilities unit is to make NBAF function efficiently.
“Each system has safeguards and protections for both the animals and people in addition to protections to the outside environment,” Brakke said. “The redundancies and unique systems are very state of the art and have everything the facility needs to ensure safety and efficacy.”
A unit this important requires a team of well-skilled people to run the individual systems as intended.
“When setting up a new organization, it’s really challenging to hire all the right people who will interact well together,” Brakke said. “We made sure to create a work environment and culture where people can succeed both personally and professionally. My team and I now feel ready to run the facility when commissioning is complete later this year.”
There is a special sense of pride among many of us at NBAF, including those on the facilities team. We feel truly privileged to be a part of something so notable. Some of you may have heard me say this before, but sometimes I still pinch myself when I walk onto this campus in the morning to start my day. It’s truly an honor to be a part of this project. We’re making history.
So, for everyone out there who has played a role in bringing USDA’s mission to Manhattan, KS and getting this historical project to the point it is today, take a moment with us to acknowledge that you also are part of this legacy. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we also want to say ‘thank you’ to this community for your continued support as we gear up for science operations and begin welcoming even more new faces to the region.
