Director named for national biodefense lab in Manhattan

MANHATTAN, Kan. — A permanent director has been named for the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Kansas.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday that Alfonso Clavijo will take over Oct. 13 at the $1.25 billion national research and diagnostic plant in Manhattan.

The Manhattan Mercury reports Clavijo will oversee the plant’s transition from construction to full operation by 2023. He will also lead the facility’s transition from the Department of Homeland Security to the USDA.

Clavijo has been laboratory executive director of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s National Centres for Animal Disease. He also has had leadership or advisory positions Texas A&M University, the Pan American Health Organization and National University in Bogota, Colombia. He was a professor in Kansas State’s College of Veterinary Medicine during the 2015-16 school year.

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