Director Named at Plum Island Animal Disease Center

May 30, 2007 — 

The Department of Homeland Security has named interim director Lawrence Barrett as the new director of the Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC).

Dr. Barrett, a veterinarian and Air Force veteran who has served since October as interim director of the Plum Island Animal Disease Center, will assume a two-year term as director of the 53-year-old lab. He will oversee all operations at the facility which received $35 million in funding last year for needed infrastructure improvements.

The Department of Homeland Security has announced plans to replace the PIADC with a new $450 million state of the art facility scheduled to open in 2014. The site of the new facility, called the National Bio and Agro-defense Facility (NBAF), has not yet been determined. The future of the PIADC facility is uncertain after the NBAF comes online.