Biocontainment

In the concluding Open Forum/Town Hall session of Tradeline’s Facility Strategies for Animal Research and Biocontainment conference, moderator Derek Westfall, president of Tradeline, and subject matter commentators, Mark Corey with Flad Architects and Tiffini Lovelace with EYP Architecture & Engineering, led a knowledge exchange on questions posed by conference attendees. This is an edited transcript of that exchange.

Washington State University is designing two new research facilities that will be constructed on the Pullman campus. The $40 million Global Animal Health Facility Phase 2 will support the detection and diagnosis of zoonotic diseases and infectious agents such as avian influenza, BSE, foot and mouth disease, West Nile virus, and pandemic flu. The project will also house teaching labs for veterinary medicine.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture broke ground in November of 2017 on a $160 million renovation and expansion of the Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory (SEPRL) in Athens, Ga. The secure facility will provide biocontainment laboratories to support the detection, diagnosis, and prevention of diseases such as pathogenic avian influenza. Completion is expected by 2020. Merrick & Company developed the Program of Requirements (POR) for the project, which could add approximately 100,000 sf to the 60-year-old campus.

The University of California, Riverside is constructing the $150 million Multidisciplinary Research Building 1 (MRB1). Designed by SmithGroupJJR, the five-story, 179,000-sf facility will provide collaborative wet, dry, and computational laboratories to accommodate up to 56 researchers and their teams. The project will include offices, conference rooms, BSL-2 labs, core research space, and a barrier vivarium with animal holding areas, procedure rooms, and support.

The College of New Jersey opened the $75 million STEM Building in October of 2017 in Ewing Township. Supporting programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, the 89,000-sf facility houses the departments of biomedical engineering, mechanical engineering, and computer science. Designed by EYP Architecture & Engineering to provide integrated teaching and research space, the multidisciplinary building offers classrooms, informal learning areas, a metal fabrication workshop, and a physiology lab.

The National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center at Fort Detrick was awarded full funding by the U.S. House of Representatives in September of 2017. Although the Department of Homeland Security had previously intended to close the facility, the recent appropriations bill has restored the laboratory’s entire $60 million budget, enabling the 160,000-sf center to continue its research on infectious diseases and pathogens. The National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center provides BSL-4, BSL-3, and BSL-2 laboratories.

Monash University is constructing the Biomedical Learning and Teaching Building in Victoria. Designed by Denton Corker Marshall, the $81 million facility will feature four flexible labs that can be configured and conjoined to accommodate 60, 120, or 240 students. Supporting programs in microbiology, anatomy, biochemistry, immunology, and physiology, the 123,700-sf building will provide Physical Containment Level 2 (PC2) labs, technology-rich dissection labs, breakout spaces, and a 12,900-sf informal learning hub.

Nasa Ames Research Center broke ground in August of 2017 on the $40 million Biosciences Collaboration Facility at Moffett Field in northern California. The two-story, 40,000-sf facility will provide 19,000 sf of BSL-2 wet labs and support and 21,000 sf of office and conference space. Designed for ease of reconfiguration, the project will include interdisciplinary research areas, procedure rooms, a radiation lab, environmental rooms, and a tissue culture suite.

The South Dakota Animal Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratory broke ground in August of 2017 on a $58 million expansion and renovation of its Brookings facility. Located on the campus of South Dakota State University, the project includes 81,000 sf of new construction, including 3,762 sf of BSL-3 space and BSL-2E necropsy space. The existing laboratory space will subsequently be renovated. The project will support diagnostic testing and vaccine development for the prevention of infectious diseases. Completion is expected in 2020.

The University of California, Riverside completed a $2 million BSL-3 renovation project in August of 2017. An existing laboratory facility was transformed by BNBuilders into a 1,383-sf life science research suite with an anteroom, gowning room, shower area, procedure rooms, autoclave, and biosafety cabinets. The project will support faculty research programs for the School of Medicine and is supplied by dedicated mechanical systems.

Merrick & Company will support the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate in the development of operational planning, IT infrastructure, biorepository transfer, and acquisition of future contracts for stand-up and operation of the new National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) now under construction in Manhattan, Kansas.

The United States Department of Agriculture’s annual summary report on animal welfare has revealed that the number of animals used in biomedical research rose by seven percent in 2016, from 767,622 in 2015 to 820,812. However, the number of animals held but not used in research decreased by 69 percent from 445,972 in 2015 to 137,444.

Merrick & Company has launched an independent forum to advance the issues of biosafety and biosecurity in the laboratory and in the field. The Merrick Biosafety and Biosecurity Consulting Advisory Board (BS&S CAB) will provide clients and associates with direct access to experts and publications in the fields of biosafety, biosecurity, threat management, public policy, developing technologies, and international issues.

The University of Luxembourg is building an animal research facility on its Belval campus in Esch-sur-Alzette. Supporting research programs in neurology, oncology, and immunology, the project will provide two breeding rooms, three surgical suites, three behavioral rooms, and vivarium space for approximately 6,000 mice and rats. Construction began on the facility in December of 2016 and occupancy is expected in September of 2017.

The Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research opened the Advanced Research Centre for Infectious Diseases in May of 2017 at the University of Ghana in Accra. Supporting the detection, testing, and study of infectious diseases and pathogenic agents, the facility features animal research labs, a BSL-3 (P3) biocontainment lab, and vivarium space. Construction of the project, which includes a solar energy plant, was made possible by a $21 million grant from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).