Vector Biocontainment Laboratory
Saravanan Thangamani, PhD
Director, Vector Biocontainment Laboratories (VBL)
Email: thangams@casabo.net
![Upstate Medical University Vector Biocontainment Laboratory](../../images/vbl-logo.png)
The Vector Biocontainment Lab (VBL), built with the SUNY 2020 grant fund in support of comprehensive research programs on viruses and bacteria that require high levels of biocontainment (Biosafety level-3 laboratory).
The VBL will facilitate research on infectious diseases that are classified as a major public health threat, such as COVID-19, Lyme disease, West Nile encephalitis, zika virus disease, chikungunya virus disease, dengue fever, malaria, Powassan encephalitis and other emerging infectious diseases at different biocontainment levels (BSL-2, ABSL-2, ACL-2, BSL-3, ACL-3 and ABSL-3).
Upstate and other SUNY infectious disease programs will utilize this one-of-its-kind biocontainment facility within the SUNY system to translate basic research ideas into products that help fight emerging infectious diseases of global health concern.
Key Functions of VBL
The VBL will provide an avenue for researchers to collaborate on cutting-edge research on emerging infectious diseases with the overall objective of developing novel countermeasures to control and prevent infections.
One-of-a-kind biocontainment facility
The VBL is one-of-its-kind biocontainment facility to conduct research on vector (ticks and mosquitoes)-borne and zoonotic pathogens of public health threat. The VBL has three levels of containment labs and each one is designed for a specific research activity.
Video Tour of the Vector Biocontainment Lab
VBL Facility Floorplan:
![VBL Facility Floorplan](../../images/vbl-facility-floorplan.jpg)