Sources: Jerry Jaax, 785-532-3233, jaax@k-state.edu;
and Steven Galitzer, 785-532-5856, galitz@k-state.edu
http://www.k-state.edu/media/mediaguide/bios/jaaxbio.html
News release prepared by: Katie Mayes, 785-532-6415, kmayes@k-state.edu
Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2007
K-STATE CONTINUES TO PUT SAFETY FIRST AS THE UNIVERSITY'S ROLE IN BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH GROWS
MANHATTAN -- For decades, biomedical research has been occurring on the campus of Kansas State University. With that research comes a responsibility for safety.
K-State has been actively involved in progressive research in food safety and security, agriculture and animal health since K-State veterinarians started developing swine vaccines around the turn of the 20th century. Since then, K-State research on plant and animal diseases has grown exponentially, including work on nutrition, vaccines and therapeutics.
Today, the K-State department of environmental health and safety works hand in hand with the university research compliance office and the Institutional Biosafety Committee to monitor and track all research activities across the university. Labs are inspected, protocols developed and workers trained, all in the interest of conducting high-quality research in the safest environment possible. This partnership helps ensure that researchers are working in safe conditions.
K-State's Institutional Biosafety Committee is responsible for overseeing all work involving infectious agents. The committee is currently monitoring some 100 active research projects involving microbial agents, recombinant DNA or toxins. These projects are integral to the teaching and research mission of the university and to the citizens of Kansas.
Each project has custom-designed safety protocols and operational procedures that are specific to the research taking place and the organisms being studied. They detail the proper steps researchers should follow in the event of an accidental or suspected laboratory exposure.
"The protocols and procedures are designed to prevent laboratory accidents, but also detail the appropriate response if an accident does occur," said Jerry Jaax, K-State associate vice president for research compliance.
Presently, microbiological research at K-State involves a wide variety of organisms, ranging from harmless bacteria to infectious agents responsible for plant, animal and human disease.
K-State's new Biosecurity Research Institute will add to K-State's capabilities to work with high-consequence pathogens that threaten the nation's food supply.
"The BRI will enable our researchers to develop better ways to confront disease threats to food crops, food animals, the nation's food supply and its people," Jaax said. "Safety in the lab is where it begins; improving health and well-being is the goal."
Steven Galitzer, director of environmental health and safety at K-State, tracks all accidents on the K-State campus. Each year, there are about 750 accidents on campus. Of those, around 4 percent take place in the laboratory.
Of the roughly 5,000 accidents reported at the university since 2000, only two were possible lab exposures that resulted in illness. Both involved E. coli, a bacterium that is commonly found in people, animals and the environment. Infection with certain strains of E. coli may cause serious human disease, particularly when they occur in the food chain. Figuring out how E. coli operates is critical to finding ways to fight it.
The Institutional Biosafety Committee investigated both K-State incidents. Fortunately, neither person involved became seriously ill. In addition, the second case, though suggestive of a laboratory exposure, could not be definitively confirmed as such.
"There is significant effort invested in oversight and safety for K-State's research programs," Jaax said. "Ensuring that this kind of critical research is done safely is an institutional priority."
Galitzer said that as K-State's research mission evolves, diligence will continue to be important.
"Kansas State University's record illustrates the university-wide commitment to safety," Galitzer said. "We will continue to strive to be conscientious as our expertise grows and our research efforts ramp up with the Biosecurity Research Institute."