Source: Dr. Cathleen A. Hanlon, 785-532-4454, chanlon@vet.k-state.edu
Web site: http://www.vet.k-state.edu/depts/dmp/service/rabies/
News release prepared by: Joe Montgomery, 785-532-4193, jmontgom@vet.k-state.edu

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

RIBBON-CUTTING CEREMONY SET AT NEW HOME OF K-STATE'S RABIES LABORATORY

MANHATTAN -- Kansas State University's Rabies Laboratory has a new home in the Manhattan/K-State Innovation Center at the K-State Research Park. A ribbon-cutting ceremony at the lab's new home, 2005 Research Park Circle, will be at 11 a.m. Friday, April 17.

The Rabies Laboratory was formerly in the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at K-State's College of Veterinary Medicine and had been a part of the college for more than 80 years. In addition to providing rabies diagnosis on suspect animals for Kansas and Nebraska, the K-State Rabies Laboratory has served veterinarians and animal owners through tests to measure antibodies to rabies in both humans and animals. The laboratory is one of the highest-volume rabies serology centers in the world and handles more than 55,000 samples annually.

The laboratory, which routinely works with import/export authorities throughout the world, meets quality monitoring standards of the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments and numerous state departments of health. Because of the quality of its practices, the laboratory is a leader in its collaboration with commercial partners toward the development and clinical trials of new vaccines, immune globulins and monoclonal antibody products for the prevention of rabies in humans and animals.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony will be in conjunction with the seminar, "Advances in Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, and Prevention of Emerging Zoonotic Agents." The seminar will feature internationally renowned scientists in the field, such as Hilary Koprowski, Bernhard Dietzschold and Zhang Fu, with whom Dr. Cathleen A. Hanlon, director of the K-State Rabies Laboratory, began her career in public health and rabies at The Wistar Institute and Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. Hanlon and Dr. Juergen Richt, Regents Distinguished Professor at K-State's College of Veterinary Medicine, are the seminar hosts.

The seminar will be 1-5 p.m. April 17 in the Practice Management Center on the fourth floor of Trotter Hall in K-State's Veterinary Medical Complex. It is free and open to the public, but registration is required and can be done online at http://www.vet.ksu.edu/CE/2009/zoonotic_agents.htm