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Consortium has the exceptional knowledge, experience, and skills vital to the NBAF's success.

The NCC NBAF is a public-private partnership of academia, agriculture, government, and the private sector. While it is based in the Research Triangle area of the state, its interests cover the entire state and the nation. Its mission is to [1] provide responsive guidance to the private sector and government on biological, public health, and agricultural security countermeasures; [2] gain the siting for, and collaboration with, the DHS NBAF program, and [3] research, evaluate, and prioritize resources to protect the U.S. public and agriculture from threats of biological agents and emerging diseases. The Consortium has depth in animal and public health, academia, government, agriculture, biotechnology, and biomanufacturing.

  • Academic - members include two agriculture colleges, a veterinary college, three medical institutions (two with public health schools), and the Community College System's biotechnology worker training programs.

  • Government - participants include federal, state and local officials, plus the North Carolina departments of Agriculture, Health, Commerce, Environment, and Crime Control.

  • Agriculture - is represented by the state's four major livestock associations-beef, dairy, poultry, and swine, the NC Farm Bureau and the NC Agribusiness Council. These groups bring technical resources, R&D capabilities, and a true public-private science partnership to the Consortium.

  • Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing - are represented by non-profit corporations and associations promoting biotechnology research, business, and education statewide, and by private sector members in biological R&D, vaccine manufacturing, diagnostics, and similar fields.

The Consortium builds on the "One Medicine" concept interrelating animal and human health for which NC is internationally known. It demonstrates long existing linkages and collaborations between service and research laboratories in government, the private sector, and academia. Similar linkages exist for agricultural security and zoonotic disease defense across our membership. Additionally, we have experience in planning, building, and managing biosecure facilities. Finally, the Consortium includes advisors with decades of federal experience in preparedness, biosafety, and biosecure research operations.

The Consortium has earned high levels of community, business, and government support.

Support for the Consortium ranges from our congressional representatives, state government, counties, academic institutions, agricultural stakeholders, research and non-profit institutes, federal partners, and the private sector. Such support reflects the dynamic collaborations and interdependence fostered and thriving in our community, and reaffirms the international recognition of our R&D capacity, expertise, and alignment with the missions of Department of Homeland Security as well as Department of Health and Human Services and United States Department of Agriculture. The North Carolina agricultural sector, representing dairy, beef cattle, pork, and poultry, provide unequivocal support, recognizing the benefits to our state and the nation through the proposed mission of NBAF. These organizations and their enthusiasm for locating the NBAF in our state attest to the expertise in biocontainment work and extensive use of BSL-3 facilities in the area, and to our community's recognition of NBAF's vital importance to the nation.

Letters of support submitted with the Expression of Interest in March 2006

Below lists the groups, companies, and agencies that submitted letters of support for the NCC NBAF at the time of submission. This does not represent, however, the entirety of the NC Consortium.

Government

Federal
      Senators Richard Burr and Elizabeth Dole
      Representatives Bob Etheridge, David Price and Brad Miller
North Carolina
      NC Governor Michael Easley
      NC Dept of Agriculture and Consumer Services
            NCDA Veterinary Services Division
            NCDA Emergency Programs Division
      NC Dept of Health and Human Services
            NC Division of Public Health, State Public Health Laboratory
            NC Division of Public Health, Division of Epidemiology
      NC Dept of Environment and Natural Resources
Local
      Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce
      Granville County Economic Development Commission
      City of Winston Salem

Academia

University of North Carolina System, Office of the President
North Carolina State University
      Office of the Chancellor
      College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
      College of Veterinary Medicine
UNC Chapel Hill
      School of Medicine
      School of Public Health
      Carolina Vaccine Institute
Duke University
      Human Vaccine Institute, Medical Center
      Southeast Regional Center for Emerging Infections & Bio-defense
East Carolina University, Office of the Chancellor
Forsyth Technical Community College, Office of the President
North Carolina Central University, Office of the Chancellor
Wake Forest University Health Sciences, Office of the President & CEO

Agriculture Related Groups

NC Cattlemen's Association
NC Dairy Producers Association
NC Farm Bureau Federation Inc.
NC Pork Council
NC Poultry Federation
Prestage Farms, Office of the Senior Vice President

Agencies & Industries

Advanced Animal Diagnostics
AlphaVax
Eisai Inc.
Embrex
ILS Inc.
Jonathan Richmond & Associates, Inc.
Merck Inc.
Metabolon
NC Biotech Piedmont Triad
NC Biotechnology Center
Piedmont Triad Research Park
RTI International
Research Triangle Park
Serenex Inc.
US Environmental Protection Agency
Winston Salem Business, Inc.