COLUMBIA, Mo. – A consortium consisting of the University of Missouri, Columbia; Washington University; St. Louis University; the Danforth Plant Science Center of St. Louis; and the Life Sciences Institute of Kansas City has applied to be the new $400 million National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility.
The new facility would replace the Plum Island Animal Disease Center in New York and would investigate infectious diseases, health emergencies and bio terrorism.
The Missouri consortium is one among 21 other states vying for the project. All of the applications are scheduled to be reviewed and ranked by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the next few months. If the Missouri consortium is chosen, the facility would most likely be located on the University of Missouri’s South Farm property.
Construction of the lab is scheduled to commence Oct. 1, 2008, and start operating in 2012.
