Member Highlights

The RAV3N Network held its fourth annual meeting on August 12–14 in Fort Collins, Colorado co-hosted by the Infectious Disease Research Center at Colorado State University and the USDA APHIS National Wildlife Research Center.

Members shared biocontainment facility updates, discussed emerging infectious disease research, and explored ways to strengthen collaboration across the network.

Thank you to all our members who attended the meeting and to our co-hosts for the support and collaboration that made this meeting a success – We are honored to work alongside all of you!

From July 15-17, 2025 in Athens, Georgia, the RAV3N Network had the pleasure of hosting a hands-on workshop that brought together members of the network to learn, share expertise, and collaborate in training for biocontainment research.

This workshop featured a hands-on activity led by the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine team, who developed a "Goat Jugular Venipuncture Training Simulator", designed for BSL-3-Ag training. Participants also engaged in roundtable discussions and had the opportunity to tour members facilities: the University of Georgia, Animal Health Research Center, and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) U.S. National Poultry Research Center.

Thank you to our hosts and to all participants for a great workshop! It’s exciting to see how collaborative efforts like this are advancing the future of biocontainment research training.

From June 10-11, 2025, the RAV3N Network was delighted to hold the “Decontamination & Decommissioning of PIADC Facilities Workshop”, hosted by the Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC).

The 2-day workshop featured presentations about the fascinating history and mission of PIADC from over 70 years protecting the U.S. agriculture and livestock from transboundary animal diseases, as well as an overview of the Plum Island Closure and Support (PICS) Program, future transitions of the scientific mission to the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, and eventual closure of the laboratory.

A special “thank you” to the Department of Homeland Security - PIADC Team for the hospitality and opportunity.

The Research Alliance for Veterinary Science and Biodefense BSL-3 Network (RAV3N) held for the second consecutive year a BSL-3 Necropsy Workshop, this year held at the Texas A&M University Global Health Research Complex (GHRC) in College Station, Texas from May 20-22, 2025.

Over the course of 2.5-day, participants from across the network worked on increasing understanding of biosecurity/biosafety, procedures for donning and doffing PPE, handling and processing of post-mortem samples and carcass management/disposal. They also had opportunities to enter containment and perform complete necropsies on chickens, pigs, and goats, and tour the Texas A&M University Global Health Research Complex.

A sincere thank you to the workshop instructors and the engaged attendees for making this a successful training, provided the feedback received from participants!

Thank you to the RAV3N members for a great conversation and sharing your knowledge with colleagues.

Awareness and interest in the  Research Alliance for Veterinary Science and Biodefense BSL-3 Network (RAV3N) has continuously increased this year. During the 2024 year, RAV3N host its virtual monthly working group meetings, as well as had in person meetings that allowed members of the network to get together and promoted knowledge exchange and networking.

The in person workshops hosted by RAV3N in 2024 were the BSL-3 Necropsy workshop, the BSL-3/4 Facilities and Operations workshop, and the annual meeting. The Necropsy workshop was held in April at the USDA National Animal Disease Center (NADC) in Ames, Iowa and brought together 22 members from the network. The workshop focused on performing necropsies in a biocontainment environment and allowed members to discuss and learn the best practices for necropsies in ABSL-3Ag facilities. The Facilities and Operations workshop brought together 10 network members and was hosted in September at the Texas A&M University Global Health Research Complex in partnership with the University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston National Laboratory, where the members had the opportunity to go for a tour. The workshop gave members the chance to discuss relevant topics in operations and maintenance of these complex facilities and share lessons learned. The annual meeting was hosted in August by The Ohio State University, Plant and Animal Agrosecurity Research Facility in Wooster, Ohio and brought together the members to discuss the latest developments in biocontainment research.

With the recent outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in dairy cattle, RAV3N organized and coordinated bi-weekly calls with its members to share and discuss research plans, coordinated emergency response and funding opportunities.

The 2025 will be another busy year for the RAV3N network as we have many in person workshops and meetings planned for our members and we cannot wait to share the accomplishments of the upcoming year!