BRI - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate
- Vice President for Research
Job Titles:
- Dean, College of Veterinary Medicine
Job Titles:
- Associate Vice President for Research Compliance
Job Titles:
- Director of Security
- Director of Security, Pat Roberts Hall
Craig Hager, Director of Security, Pat Roberts Hall, is responsible for developing, coordinating and supervising the security protocols and emergency response procedures. The policies and procedures developed are in close cooperation with the Biosafety Office to ensure the safety and security of those working and conducting research at BRI. Hager has more than 30 years' experience in security and emergency response at the local and federal levels. He is responsible for training and supervising the BRI Security staff. Hager also prepares and conducts security awareness training for the staff and researchers. He works closely with local 1 st responders to ensure they are prepared to respond to any emergency at the BRI.
Previous Positions
Senior Instructor, U.S. Army School of Cadet Command, Fort Knox, KY
Assistant Professor of Military Science, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
Assistant Professor of Military Science, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY
Deputy Provost Marshal, 1 st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, KS
Job Titles:
- Director of BRI Arthropod Rearing and Containment Facilities
- Director, Arthropod Rearing and Containment Facilities
- Professor
Dana Vanlandingham, Director of BRI Arthropod Rearing and Containment Facilities, oversees the activities in the high containment insectary (ACL-3) and ACL-1 laboratories at the BRI. As Director, she facilitates communication between research teams and BRI insectary support staff and schedules research projects.
Vanlandingham is a Professor in the Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine. Her research is focused on zoonotic arboviruses; most of these viruses require high containment facilities. Current projects include:
Job Titles:
- Director, Facility Management
Eric Montgomery is responsible for the supervision of all operations and maintenance activities at the facility.
Job Titles:
- Dean, College of Agriculture and Director of K - State Research and Extension
Job Titles:
- Supervisory Facility Operations Specialist
Job Titles:
- Officer
- Biosafety Officer / Assistant Vice President for Research Compliance
- K - State 's Assistant Vice President for Research Compliance
Julie A. Johnson, K-State's assistant vice president for research compliance and the BRI's biosafety officer, oversees compliance for high-containment research projects and serves as the responsible official for select agent use on campus. Dr. Johnson directs the BRI's biosafety team, overseeing laboratory and biological safety programs, providing subject matter expertise for biological and laboratory safety training, and coordinating with campus safety and research compliance programs to ensure all applicable safety regulations and guidelines are met. She is a Graduate Faculty Associate in the Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology department of K-State's College of Veterinary Medicine.
Johnson has a bachelor's degree in chemistry from St. Olaf College, a Master's degree in biochemistry, and a doctorate in molecular, cellular, and developmental biology from Iowa State University. Prior to coming to K-State in 2006, she was the campus biosafety officer at Iowa State University for eleven years, where she developed a comprehensive campus wide biosafety program. Julie has maintained certification as a biological safety professional since 2001. She is an active member of the American Biological Safety Association, for which she currently serves as an elected Council member.
Previous Positions
Campus Biosafety Officer, Iowa State University
Education
B.S., Chemistry, St. Olaf College
M.S., Biochemistry, Iowa State University
Ph.D., Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Iowa State University
Professional Associations
American Biological Safety Association
Job Titles:
- Associate Director
- Bob Krause BRI Research Fellow
- Director, National Agricultural Biosecurity Center
Job Titles:
- Head, Department of Plant Pathology
Sen. Pat Roberts is a fourth-generation Kansan from Dodge City. He was elected to the House in 1980 and served eight terms as a congressman from the First District from 1/3/1981-1/2/1997. He was elected to the United States Senate and served as a Senator for four terms from 1/3/1997 to 1/3/2021. As chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and a former Marine, Roberts led the effort to improve the country's intelligence-gathering and analysis capabilities at a critical time in our nation's history. Roberts has the distinction of chairing both the House Agriculture Committee and the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee.
As a Senator and in his role as the Chair of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, Senator Roberts has played a leading role in protecting America's agricultural and related industries and securing the food supply. He has invited several experts from K-State to testify to this committee, including Stephen Higgs, director of the BRI. Senator Roberts and his staff have been frequent visitors to the BRI. On January 3, 2021, Roberts was succeeded by Representative Roger Marshall, also a frequent visitor to the BRI and host to Higgs in Washington.
Job Titles:
- Information Technology Director
- Information Technology Officer
Responsibilities and Experience
As information technology officer, Will Baldwin develops and manages the information technology infrastructure and security necessary to support research and education programs at the BRI. With 30+ years of experience in the information technology field, Baldwin accepted his position for its high-profile challenges and the chance to make a significant impact on the organization's mission. He works with a wealth of technologies, including cyber-security intrusion protection, video surveillance, physical access control, laboratory information management, control systems, software development, x.509 identity management, and broadcast quality television production systems.
Previous Positions
Biosecurity Research Institute Information Technology Director 2008-Present
Plant Diagnostic Information System, Project Director 2001-Present
Kansas Air National Guard, Safety Specialist 2012-2014
Kansas Air National Guard, Avionics Guidance and Controls Specialist 1988-2012
Great Plains Diagnostic Network, Associate Director for Information Technology 2002-2008
K-State College of Agriculture, Department of Communications, Unit Leader of Information and Educational Technology 2007-2008
K-State College of Agriculture, Systems Engineer 1993-2002
K-State College of Architecture, Information Technology Director 1992
K-State College of Engineering, Engineering Computing Center 1990-1991