National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility

The National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) is a biosafety level 4 research laboratory in Manhattan, Kansas, operated by the United States Department of Agriculture. The facility opened in June 2023. The facility is designed to combat biological threats involving human, zoonotic, and foreign animal diseases. The NBAF replaced the aging Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC) on Plum Island, New York. The primary research tenants of the facility are the Agriculture Research Service (USDA-ARS) and Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services (USDA-APHIS-VS). Construction on the 574,000-square-foot (53,300 m²) facility officially began in May 2015, and was scheduled to be completed by May 2021. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, however, has delayed scheduled commissioning to October 2021, followed by further delays to Spring, and finally summer 2023. Operations will be fully transferred from the Plum Island facility by 2023. The facility employs between 250 and 350 people. The facility is a constituent member of the Biosafety Level 4 Zoonotic Laboratory Network, and is currently led by Alfonso Clavijo.