Research and Development
National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, Manhattan, Kansas
The Department of Homeland Security is seeking a location to build a $451 million federal laboratory to research and develop countermeasures to animal, human, and zoonotic diseases. Kansas is in the group of five finalists for the facility, and KBA funding supports the effort to bring the NBAF to Kansas.
Expected or Realized Outcomes: 300 new employees and $451 million in capital expenditures.
Kansas Center for Biomaterials Innovation and Design, Wichita, Kansas
The KBA awarded a $200,000 planning grant for a proposed Kansas Center for Biomaterials Innovation and Design (KCBID) to establish a premier Kansas-based institution for biomaterials research and education and commercialization of the research into innovative medical devices. The lead applicants of this planning grant proposal are the University of Kansas and Wichita State University, in collaboration with Pittsburg State University’s Polymer Research Institute, the Research Centers of Via Christi Health System, and over 20 other private industries, educational institutions, and public organizations. The technology platforms in which KCBID will focus are development of biomaterials and medical devices for the dental and orthopaedic (including spine) fields, with a secondary complementary focus on medical imaging, tissue engineering and combination products (1/16/2008).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: As the KCBID becomes recognized as a center for innovation and for bringing in federal research projects, out-of-state companies will become recruitment candidates for opening R&D offices and production facilities in Kansas.
Kansas Bioscience Innovation Center in Drug Delivery, Lawrence, Kansas
The KBA awarded a $180,000 planning grant for the proposed Kansas Bioscience Innovation Center in Drug Delivery (KBICDD) to transform outstanding drug-delivery capabilities at the University of Kansas (KU) into a completely integrated, high-performance, world-class drug-delivery organization. It is anticipated that the KBICDD will be a subsidiary of the Kansas University Center for Research, and KU plans to form the KBICDD based on a core concept of industry collaboration. The KBICDD also has secured the support and participation during the planning grant phase of virtually every drug discovery institution in the region, including both public and private research institutes; a wide range of biotechnology, biopharmaceutical, and drug specialty companies; contract research organizations; and animal health companies (1/16/2008).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: The KBICDD expects to produce three or four startup companies by the end of the fifth year of operation, and there is strong potential for a liquidity event during the 10-year period. The KBICDD will play a vital role in creating regional jobs that will attract a highly skilled workforce.
Kansas Bioscience Innovation Center for Advanced Plant Design, Manhattan, Kansas
The KBA awarded a $200,000 planning grant for the Kansas Innovation Center for Advanced Plant Design. Proposed by the Kansas Wheat Commission, the center will focus on the emerging commercial opportunities for wheat, sorghum, small grains, and native plants and grasses. By coordinating efforts across the state, nation, and the world, the center will accelerate scientific discoveries and innovation in plant bioscience. Facilities for the center will be headquartered at Kansas State University in Manhattan, collaborating with existing research programs at the University of Kansas in Lawrence (1/16/2008).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: Some of the expected outcomes of the center include commercialization of sustainable, drought-tolerant, high-yielding varieties; foods with reduced allergenicity; new food products that are rich in anti-oxidants and cancer-fighting components; plant-derived medicines; and high bio-mass plants optimized for cellulosic bio-fuel production. In addition, each center scientist is anticipated to generate external funding from intellectual property royalties, license fees, industry collaboration and contract research and development funding, and federal funding.
Collaborative Biosecurity Research Initiative, Manhattan, Kansas
The KBA has launched a $2.5 million Collaborative Biosecurity Research Initiative (CBRI) to bring together researchers nationwide to create products that protect Americans from the intentional use of animal-borne diseases to disrupt the national economy or to infect humans. The goal of the CBRI is to support inter-institutional research to: (1) develop counter-measures for foreign-animal diseases; (2) provide advanced test and evaluation capability for threat detection, vulnerability, and countermeasure assessment for animal and zoonotic diseases; (3) support licensure of vaccine countermeasures through essential animal-model testing and evaluation; and (4) strengthen biosecurity capabilities of institutions serving certain regions and populations (1/16/08).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: The initiative will allow national academic, federal-agency, and nonprofit researchers to collaborate with K-State scientists to perform research not possible at their home institutions.
University of Kansas Eminent Scholar, Lawrence, Kansas
The KBA awarded $5 million over five years to attract Dr. Blake Peterson to a tenured position in the KU School of Pharmacy. He will teach at both the professional and graduate level in the department of medicinal chemistry; develop and maintain an active research program; train graduate, undergraduate and postdoctoral students; and develop research collaborations across different disciplines within KU. Dr. Peterson is important to KU’s cancer drug discovery program, which is the heart of KU’s strategy for gaining National Cancer Institute designation as a cancer center. KBA funds would be used to assist in providing lab space, along with assistance from the KU Cancer Center. Dr. Peterson also has a high interest in technology transfer and commercialization. He is the founder of Indigo Biosciences, a preclinical contract research organization servicing clients involved in pharmaceutical R&D, biotechnology, and related sectors. Dr. Peterson has filed for 12 patent disclosures and been awarded over $7.2 million in NCI funding (1/16/08).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: A conservative estimate is that Dr. Peterson’s research will attract approximately $22 million in new external research over a 10-year period.
Kansas State University Eminent Scholar, Manhattan, Kansas
The KBA awarded up to $2,055,000 over five years to establish Dr. Juergen Richt (DVM, PhD) as a Regents Distinguished Professor at Kansas State University. Dr. Richt will have a primary faculty appointment in the Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, an academic unit of the College of Veterinary Medicine. He is expected to be a campus and statewide asset, providing animal health research leadership with investigators in all units of the College of Veterinary Medicine, the university and, where appropriate, the state. Dr. Richt’s infectious disease work requires a combination of BSL-3/BSL-3Ag biocontainment and that would be conducted in the new Biosecurity Research Institute at K-State. KBA funds will be used to assist in providing the equipment and space. Dr. Richt has been a lead scientist at the National Animal Disease Center (in the Virus and Prion Diseases of Livestock Research Unit) and as a professor at Iowa State University. He is involved in cutting-edge research in two high-impact areas, prion diseases and influenza, and has established a strong reputation in the basic science of borna viruses and vaccines and diagnostics for other key viral diseases (1/16/08).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: Dr. Richt’s research is expected to attract approximately $4 million in new external research funding over a five-year period.
Materials by Advanced Technologies and Research Innovation Center, Lawrence, Kansas
The KBA awarded $2 million in matching funds over six years to establish the Materials by Advanced Technologies and Research Innovation Center (MATRIC). The center will support a research, teaching, and outreach environment that serves as a catalyst for collaborative investigations focused on applying the principles of biological systems to the design, synthesis, and development of novel nano-composite technologies. The center’s focus will bring together the current expertise in the region with state business resource initiatives to build the emerging areas of biomaterials and medical devices (1/16/08).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: Federal research funding of $12.3 million and creation of a center that will foster active collaboration among university researchers and those concerned with the application of materials in industry and elsewhere.
Via Christi Health System and Wichita State University Eminent Scholar, Wichita, Kansas
The KBA awarded up to $911,954 over five years to attract Paul Wooley, PhD, to Via Christi Health System and Wichita State University for the creation of an orthopedic immunogenetic laboratory to study the biocompatibility of composite implants. Dr. Wooley’s primary role is director of orthopaedic research at Via Christi’s Orthopaedic Research Institute and his secondary role is professor at the Wichita State University College of Engineering in the bioengineering program. Dr. Wooley’s research includes the pathology and treatment of connective tissue diseases (particularly arthritis), biocompatibility, tissue engineering, and gene therapy (4/8/08).
Expected Outcomes: Dr. Wooley’s research is expected to attract approximately $5 million in external research funding over five years.
Commercialization
Sunflower Integrated Bioenergy Center, Holcomb, Kansas
The KBA awarded $13,000 for a Phase I project to the National Institute for Strategic Technology Acquisition and Commercialization (NISTAC) to identify and commercialize renewable energy technology for western Kansas. Funding will be matched by Sunflower Electric Power Corporation and NISTAC (7/13/06).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: Attracted matching funds for a study leading to the creation of an integrated bioenergy center.
Sunflower Integrated Bioenergy Center, Holcomb, Kansas
The KBA awarded $500,000 to the National Institute for Strategic Technology Acquisition and Commercialization (NISTAC) for a Phase II project to identify and commercialize renewable energy technology for western Kansas, including funding for engineering and economic/legal due diligence. Sunflower Electric Power Corporation will contribute the land, and NISTAC will contribute intellectual property (1/9/07 and 3/13/07 for Phase II after recommendation).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: Approximately 161 new employees and $400 million in capital expenditures.
Business Tax Incentive Investment Program
CritiTech, Lawrence, Kansas
The KBA awarded $264,048 under the Bioscience Tax Investment Incentive Program to support CritiTech’s manufacture of fine-particle pharmaceuticals through a process known as precipitation with compressed antisolvent. The company is pursuing an investigational new drug application for its new product Nanotax (9/28/07).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: CritiTech expects to expand its workforce by 25-30 employees in addition to securing industrial partners and generating value for its shareholders. CritiTech is raising a $1.5 million round from private investors and will receive support from KU Medical Center for the Phase I Nanotax trial totaling approximately $550,000. Additionally, the company has been successful in pursuing federal technology development grants, with an expected SBIR Phase 1 grant of approximately $400,000 over the next 18 months.
R&D Voucher
CritiTech, Lawrence, Kansas
The KBA awarded $48,700 to CritiTech to create smaller and more uniform particles in the area of drug delivery. Funding is for the purchase and setup of a new and improved coating unit, greatly expanding CritiTech’s capacity to perform feasibility and development projects for pharmaceutical companies (7/13/06).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: 2 new employees and $100,000 in federal research funds.
IdentiGEN North America, Lawrence, Kansas
The KBA awarded $125,000 to IdentiGEN for a research voucher to a K-State professor and financial assistance to defray the cost of scientific equipment in Kansas laboratories. IdentiGEN is an innovative provider of DNA-based solutions to the agri-food industry with plans to locate headquarters for its U.S. operations in Lawrence (4/11/06).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: Approximately 35 new employees and $1.9 million in capital expenditures.
Nutri-shield, Courtland, Kansas
The KBA awarded $40,000 to Nutri-Shield, a company engaged in development, manufacturing, marketing, and sales of preservatives. The company’s primary business is the removal of odors and flavors from commercial grade preservatives used in food and health care and cosmetic products. Funding is for assistance in developing and transitioning a process for synthesizing sorbic acid from the carbohydrate fraction of corn from proven lab scale to a plant setting. Funds will be split between research vouchers and equipment and lab needs (7/13/06).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: Two new exployees, approximately $85,238 in capital expenditures, and $35,000 in investment capital.
Midwest Grains Products Ingredients, Atchison, Kansas
The KBA awarded $40,000 for research vouchers to K-State for creating higher value products from distillers dried grains, millfeeds, corn stalks and wheat straw that segregate into several fractions and are used in subsequent biorefinery operations and products. MGPI is a recognized pioneer in the development and commercialization of bio-based products as well as specialty starches and proteins for use in a wide array of consumer goods. It is embarking on an aggressive plan to develop a substantial business based on bio-based, biodegradable resins designed to economically replace plastic resin (7/13/06).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: Approximately 52 new employees and $16 million in capital expenditures.
Kansas Environmental Management Associates, Topeka, Kansas
The KBA awarded a $312,500 research and development voucher to Kansas Environmental Management Associates (KEMA) for a collaboration with the Advanced Manufacturing Institute to develop, construct, and operate a farm-scale phosphorous recovery system to remove up to 75 percent of the phosphorous from cattle feedlot lagoon water. KEMA has been leading an effort in conjunction with the AMI of Kansas State University to address the growing concern of excess nutrient level accumulation on farmland, specifically, phosphorous accumulation (9/28/07).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: KEMA is expected to employ 26 new employees by 2010 and will partner with Kansas State University to develop an innovative technology aimed at helping animal producers to meet existing and future environmental regulations economically. KEMA will match KBA dollar for dollar; Kansas State University will provide $65,000.
OsteoGeneX, Lawrence, Kansas
The KBA awarded $130,000 to OsteoGeneX for the development of a small molecule inhibitor of the new bone anabolic target sclerostin (SOST) for the treatment of osteoporosis and related bone disorders. Through genomic approaches, sclerostin was identified as a master regulator of bone mass affecting men and women. Using proteomic approaches, OsteoGeneX discovered and patented sclerostin’s mechanism of action. Since then, the work was awarded a NIH Phase I SBIR proof-of-concept grant to screen a small molecule library for compounds blocking SOST function (7/10/07).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: Collaboration with the University of Kansas to identify the dosing of authenticated lead candidates and then go into animal and clinical trials. Approximately eight new employees and $160,000 in investment capital. The company was awarded a $133,904 Phase I SBIR award from the National Institutes of Health, has funding from the University of Kansas Higuchi Biosciences Center ($65,000), and has raised investment capital from private investors.
Equity
KC BioMediX, Lawrence, Kansas
The KBA awarded KC BioMediX a $150,000 convertible debenture, two-year note at 12 percent per year; a discount at conversion at $1.02 per share or 50 percent discount; 50 percent is due at closing and 50 percent at Phase 1 milestones. The award will help commercialize technologies developed at the University of Kansas for the care and treatment of infants born prematurely, particularly assisting with the problem of non-nutritive sucking. KC BioMediX has licensed the sole rights to commercialize the technologies and devices described in two patent applications (7/10/07).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: Approximately 99 new employees $607,000 in capital expenditures, and $1.45 million in investment capital.
Innovia Medical, Lenexa, Kansas
The KBA awarded $300,000 equity investment to Innovia, plus up to an additional $350,000 if matched by Kansas private equity investors, to commercialize an FDA-approved product called EarCheck, which utilizes the only technology for the rapid detection of middle ear fluid, a key indication of ear infections (7/10/07).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: Three new employees in addition to $100,000 in capital expenditures and $3.1 million in investment capital.
Federal Matching
Edenspace Systems Corporation, Junction City, Kansas
The KBA awarded $40,000 to support Edenspace’s breakthroughs in lowering processing costs and increasing yields of biofuels from sorghum, corn, and switchgrass. The KBA funding will serve as a 50 percent match to a Small Business Innovation Research grant the company has been awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (11/26/07).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: 30 employees over the next year; $80,000 in federal funding.
Edenspace Systems Corporation, Junction City, Kansas
The KBA awarded $50,000 to support Edenspace’s breakthroughs in lowering processing costs and increasing yields of biofuels from sorghum, corn, and switchgrass. The KBA funding will serve as a 50 percent match to a Small Business Innovation Research grant the company has been awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy (11/26/07).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: 30 employees over the next year; $100,000 in federal funding.
Pinnacle Technology, Lawrence, Kansas
The KBA awarded up to $375,000 to Pinnacle Technologies, a Lawrence-based company that specializes in wireless, Web-enabled sensor conditioning, data acquisition, and biotechnology products, to develop real-time wireless monitoring and data acquisition systems for use in studying the brain activity of mice and rats. This technology will provide researchers with new tools to use in understanding the effects of degenerative brain disorders and developing cures for those disorders (1/16/08).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: An additional nine jobs in Kansas and $879,290 in federal research dollars.
Retention and Attraction
Quintiles, Overland Park, Kansas
The KBA awarded $3.5 million to defray moving and employment training costs associated with the company’s relocation of its clinical development services, clinical pharmacology, and Phase I clinical research units to Overland Park (4/11/06).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: Approximately 650 new employees and $45 million in capital expenditures.
Hospira, McPherson, Kansas
The KBA awarded $200,000 to Hospira, a global specialty pharmaceutical and medication delivery company with 14 manufacturing facilities worldwide, including a facility in McPherson. A $60 million expansion of the McPherson plant is in progress, and funding supports an effort to encourage qualified students to investigate careers in the biosciences and to recruit, hire, and retain recently graduated scientists from Kansas universities (4/11/06).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: Approximately 33 new employees.
JACAM Chemicals, Sterling, Kansas
The KBA awarded $500,000 to JACAM Chemicals, which provides services and products to numerous industries including oil, gas, pipeline, and municipal and industrial water systems. Funding is for the purchase of scientific equipment and recruitment of research personnel for an expanded facility in Rice County (4/11/06).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: Approximately 60 new employees and $875,000 in capital expenditures.
OncImmune, Lenexa, Kansas
The KBA awarded $2.5 million to OncImmune, which was founded in 2003 to commercialize technology developed in the laboratories of Professor John Robertson, a professor of surgery at Nottingham University. The focus of Oncimmune’s technology is on the early detection of cancer, in particular breast cancer, and the company plans to collaborate with the University of Kansas on pharmaceutical chemistry at the Lawrence campus and on cancer clinical research at the KU Medical Center. The company is establishing its North American headquarters in Kansas (10/12/06).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: Approximately 225 new employees.
American Ingredients Company, Lenexa, Kansas
The KBA awarded $1 million to American Ingredients, a leading researcher and manufacturer of functional bakery ingredients and health products with plans to relocate its national headquarters to Lenexa. Funding will be equally divided between Kansas research universities in the form of research vouchers and American Ingredients Company for purchasing and sustaining research equipment (7/13/06).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: Approximately 100 new employees.
Topeka Chamber of Commerce, Topeka, Kansas
The KBA awarded $13,388 to the Topeka Chamber of Commerce for due diligence to facilitate the attraction process of Ventria Bioscience, a plant-made pharmaceutical and plant-made industrial products company seeking to expand its nursery, greenhouse, field production and bioprocessing operations (7/13/06).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: A due diligence report regarding the potential location of Ventria Bioscience in the area.
Junction City, Kansas / Ventria Bioscience
The KBA awarded $1 million to Junction City to support the attraction of Ventria Bioscience, a plant-made pharmaceutical and plant-made industrial products company expanding its nursery, greenhouse, field production and bioprocessing operations to Junction City. The company plans to grow genetically modified rice which can be processed into pharmaceutical, medical food ingredients and bioprocessing ingredients (10/12/06).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: Approximately 35 new employees and $5.5 million in capital expenditures.
Edenspace Systems Corporation, Junction City, Kansas
The KBA awarded $200,000 to Edenspace Systems, which seeks to become a key supplier in the renewable fuels industry by engineering crops to lower the cost of cellulosic ethanol. The company has been awarded more than $2.8 million in development funding from the U.S. Department of Energy and has signed key development agreements with the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), USDA and the leading ethanol facility development company, ICM, Inc. Edenspace plans to relocate and has identified Manhattan or Junction City as potential locations (3/13/07).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: Approximately 30 new employees and $3.5 million in investment capital.
Hospira, McPherson, Kansas
The KBA awarded $64,000 Hospira, a global specialty pharmaceutical and medication delivery company with 14 manufacturing facilities worldwide, including a facility in McPherson. A $60 million expansion of the McPherson plant is in progress. Funding is to support an effort to encourage qualified students to investigate careers in the biosciences and to recruit, hire, and retain recently graduated scientists from Kansas universities (1/9/07).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: Approximately 8 new employees.
City of Emporia, Kansas / Renewable Energy Group
The KBA awarded $300,000 over 10 years to the City of Emporia to support the attraction of Renewable Energy Group, the nation’s leader in biodiesel marketing, which plans to build a commercial-scale, multiple feedstock biodiesel production facility in Emporia. When the facility opens, Renewable Energy Group’s biodiesel network is slated to market more than 310 million gallons of biodiesel a year (7/10/07).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: Approximately 30 new employees and $65 million in capital expenditures.
Fort Dodge Animal Health, Overland Park, Kansas
The KBA awarded $3.5 million and 30 acres of land in the Kansas Bioscience Park to Fort Dodge Animal Health for the expansion of its North American research and development laboratories in Olathe, Kansas (7/10/07).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: 215 new employees and $35 million in capital expenditures.
Remel, Lenexa, Kansas
The KBA awarded $1.25 million to Remel, a subsidiary of Thermo Fisher Scientific, for the expansion of its Lenexa operations. The company is a global manufacturer of a wide range of high-quality microbiology products used in clinical, industrial, research, and academic laboratories (9/28/07).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: Over the next five years, Remel expects to increase employment by between 90 and 180 employees and make between $7 million and $12 million in capital expenditures.
INFRASTRUCTURE
City of Manhattan, Kansas / National Institute for Strategic Technology Acquisition and Commercialization
The KBA awarded $1 million to Manhattan for construction of and equipment for web lab incubator space (7/13/06).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: Up to 200 new employees and approximately $6.7 million in capital expenditures.
Kansas Bioscience Park and K-State Olathe Innovation Campus, Olathe, Kansas
The KBA awarded $7.6 million for the development of a 105-acre bioscience park in Olathe that will be home to the K-State Olathe Innovation Campus and a number of growing bioscience companies (1/9/07).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: Approximately $7.6 million in capital expenditures for infrastructure, plus significant jobs and capital investment as the park is built and filled with researchers and other employees.
Wet Lab Upgrade KU Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas
The KBA awarded $100,000 to KU Medical Center to upgrade the wet lab at the Kansas City Biotechnology Development Center at the KUMC Research Institute (7/13/06 and 1/9/07).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: Approximately $200,000 in capital expenditures; the cost of the upgrade will be shared with the Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute.
Wet Lab Planning and Architecture, Olathe, Kansas
The KBA awarded $150,000 for planning and architectural work for the Kansas Bioscience Park and K-State Olathe Innovation Campus (7/13/06).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: Approximately $5,000,000 in capital expenditures.
BioMedical Entrepreneurial Research Incubator Renovation Project (BMERI)
The KBA awarded $2 million to the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC) and the University of Kansas Medical Center Research (KUMCRI) in partial matching funds for a $3 million grant KUMC received from the U.S. Department of Commerce to renovate the Breidenthal Research Building for use as a bioscience incubator. The BMERI will help bridge the gap between bench science and product commercialization with its direct-indoor connection to laboratory animal resources facilities and close proximity to the main research facilities on campus (4/8/08).
Expected Outcomes: The $2 million investment by the KBA will yield a $6 million facility equivalent (estimated to be a $19 million facility if it were constructed new). It is projected this facility could generate 26 new companies, with 16 graduating from the incubator into other space, $40 million in revenue over nine years, $10 million in annual revenue in year 10 and beyond, and employment for 136 workers.
OTHER
KansasBIO
Assistance supports Kansas’ outreach and attraction activities at the annual BIO International Convention, the preeminent gathering of tens of thousands of bioscientists and business and a top Kansas marketing opportunity (1/5/06, 10/12/06, and 9/28/07).
Kansas City Area Development Council
Assistance to the Kansas City Area Development Council (KCADC) supported the development of a business recruitment marketing plan by the KC metropolitan area’s umbrella economic development organization (7/13/06).
Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute
Assistance provided matching funds to support a federal planning grant for a regional wet lab incubator to be located at KU Medical Center. The Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute and the National Institute for Strategic Technology Acquisition and Commercialization also provided matching funds (7/13/06).
Kansas Bioscience Centers of Innovation
Funding supports planning grants for a consortia of research institutions and private companies to develop centers of innovation around the state’s core bioscience competency areas. The centers of innovation will focus on research and development in core technology areas that establish national and international research excellence and lead to high commercial payoff in new products and processes (5/25/07).
Heartland BioVentures
Funding supports a KBA program that will emphasize business formation and acceleration to grow bioscience companies and help them raise venture capital investment (1/5/06 and 5/25/07).
Kansas Bioscience Fund
Funding will support the creation of a fund to increase the amount of private investment capital available in Kansas for Kansas bioscience companies in the seed or early stage investment capital (5/25/07).
Biosecurity Research Institute Training and Education Enhancement, Manhattan, Kansas
The KBA awarded $1,548,000 to implement technologies at the Biosecurity Research Institute (BRI) at Kansas State University to acquire video and audio technology for capture, editing, and reproduction of video and audio signals, as well as to enhance the ability to offer distance educational programming via satellite or over the Internet. The BRI’s integrated training suite (ITS) is a combined modern classroom and fully functional laboratory with all the equipment common to a biosafety level 3 research laboratory. With additional technologies, the ITS will become a functioning educational studio permitting the BRI learning experience to include the production of professional-level DVDs of training programs. The BRI training and education DVDs will be offered for national and international distribution, further demonstrating leadership in this arena and greatly extending the impact of K-State. This leadership in biosecurity education and training will serve as a national resource for training the staff that will occupy the proposed National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (02/26/08).
Expected or Realized Outcomes: Enhance the BRI as an attractor for the NBAF, for new bio-businesses, and additional research programs for the BRI. At just 27% occupancy, the ITS could generate $564,300 per year in revenue, and, with training and education programs in the lecture hall at a 57% occupancy rate, there is a potential to generate $945,000 per year in funding.