April 15, 2002

Bioterrorism Experts to Speak at NDSU April 26

North Dakota State University’s annual "Hot Zone" event on Friday, April 26, will feature a husband and wife team that are experts on bioterrorism and helped contain the first outbreak of the Ebola virus in the United States.

Nancy and Gerald Jaax formerly of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, will discuss agrobioterrorism and emerging zoonotic infectious diseases at 11 a.m. in the Century Theatre of NDSU’s Memorial Union. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Jerry Jaax is the associate vice provost for research compliance and university veterinarian at Kansas State University. He frequently assists with special projects, especially those associated with homeland security initiatives. He is an expert on agroterrorism and lectures widely on the subject. He entered the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps in 1972. In 1996 he was named the Director of the Biological Arms Control Treaty Office at Ft Detrick, MD, and was responsible for implementation and compliance of the U.S. Army with all international biological warfare treaties and agreements. He retired from the Army in 1998 at the rank of colonel.

Nancy Jaax is interim director of the Food Safety and Security Institute at KSU. She joined the Army Veterinary Corps in 1973 and spent six years in clinical assignments in the United States and Germany. She attained board certification in the specialty of Veterinary Pathology in 1983, and focused her subsequent research efforts on the elucidation of the pathogenesis of chemical and biological warfare agents, particularly the Ebola and Marburg viruses. She has been the consultant for her specialty to the Army Surgeon General since 1990. She also retired from the Army at the rank of colonel.

The Jaaxes were key participants in the Reston Ebola virus outbreak, in Reston, Va., described in the New York Times bestseller, "The Hot Zone," by Richard Preston, and have lectured widely on bioterrorism and emerging infectious disease issues and emergency response.

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Source: Catherine Logue, (701) 231-7692, catherine.logue@ndsu.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu

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