(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); The CVM's Dr. Roman Ganta, director of the Center of Excellence for Vector-Borne Diseases, accepts a very generous check... Posted by Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine on Wednesday, April 8, 2015 Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine is establishing a new center of excellence to help control infectious diseases in both humans and animals. The Center of Excellence for Vector-Borne Diseases (CEVBD) will officially launch April 8. Specifically, the center is described as an interdisciplinary research center with a mission to combat vector-borne diseases with a focus on pathogenesis, surveillance and disease prevention. “The CEVBD will prepare us well to build a nationally and internationally recognized program to combat the emerging threats of vector-borne diseases in the U.S., including bacterial, parasitic and viral diseases,” said Roman Ganta, professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology, who will oversee the center. “The center also will strive to synergize with the soon-to-be-established federal facility in Manhattan, the National Bio and Agro-defense Facility, or NBAF. The research that we will conduct will serve a role in helping to advance the goals of the K-State 2025 mission to become a Top 50 public research university.” Goals of the center include establishing a tick-rearing facility to support the research needs of Kansas State University and other academic institutions and industry in the United States. The facility, according to Ganta, is already in progress. “We started rearing Amblyomma americanum and Ixodes scapularis ticks,” he said. “Further, we have developed a network to build research programs to promote strong collaborations among K-State faculty who have shared interests, as well as faculty and researchers at other academic institutions and industry in the U.S. and abroad.” The center also will produce programs to prepare future generations of scientists with expertise on vector-borne diseases, offering continuing education workshops and developing resources, such as a repository to maintain culture stocks of vector-borne pathogens, according to the college.
