Junior and senior science research students from the high school recently visited Plum Island Animal Disease Center, the only federal laboratory in the nation that conducts research and diagnostics on high-consequence foreign animal diseases.

Vaccines and diagnostics discovered and developed at the laboratory protect U.S. livestock from the accidental or intentional introduction of foreign animal diseases that will seriously threaten livestock industries, food security and the nation’s economy. Plum Island is part of a network of laboratories under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate. The U.S Department of Agriculture maintains an important collaborative relationship on Plum Island by providing diagnostics and research into animal diseases like African swine fever and foot-and-mouth disease.

Meeting with scientific staff from DHS and the USDA who lead their respective fields in animal disease diagnostics and prevention, the West Islip students learned about the scientific and economic importance of the research that is performed on Plum Island.