Getting Down to Science

By Stephanie Jacques, Public Affairs Specialist
April 2024

After years of discussion, planning, construction and testing, USDA’s National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, or NBAF, is finally getting down to science.

Science at NBAF is starting in phases. This phased process began with low-risk, common science practices that don’t involve infectious pathogens and is moving to more advanced or mission-focused science in later phases. As NBAF is ramping up science operations in Manhattan, Kansas, its predecessor — the Plum Island Animal Disease Center in New York — will continue protecting American agriculture until NBAF is ready to assume the center’s full mission.

“We are not embarking on this journey alone,” said Dr. Robin Holland, director of the Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at NBAF. “We are standing on the shoulders of giants who have been planning NBAF for decades. We feel humbled by the opportunity to carry their torch, to build on their progress, to honor their legacy, and to deliver their vision for a safer and more resilient U.S. agriculture.”

As part of the phased start of science, NBAF recreated a lab photo from Plum Island using a modern NBAF microscope and the appropriate personal protective equipment common today for this type of science. This throwback comparison honors all scientists — particularly women — who made Plum Island successful and provided a legacy for which NBAF can grow and expand.

The initial science functions at NBAF have included sequencing a healthy house fly genome, seeding a cell culture, which means growing a cell line free from contaminants from frozen hamster kidney cells, and starting a fixed microscope slide library of healthy tissue. Each of these science activities are no-risk to people or livestock and they are basic foundational science for NBAF’s mission to come.

Current scientific activities at NBAF are at a biosafety level-1 and -2 — which includes clean, non-infectious materials as well as moderate-risk microbes. This is similar to science work in most universities, colleges and diagnostic laboratories across the country. Activities will progress to biosafety level-3, and -4 as safety and science goals are achieved.

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Holland said. “The complexity of NBAF is beyond comprehension. The only path forward is to work together as a team to build the foundation of a program that is larger and will outlast any of our careers.”

As NBAF proceeds through science standup phases, the facility and its procedures are required by law to undergo inspections and reviews by federal regulatory agencies. USDA staff continue to outline and refine the specifics of the science standup phases and transition from Plum Island.