Pictured above: TGen Director of Pathogen Genomics Dr. Paul Keim; TGen President Jeffrey Trent; NAU President John Haeger; David Engelthaler, Director of Programs, TGen North; and Flagstaff Mayor Joe Donaldson.

Amid rising April temperatures and melting snow, representatives from TGen, Northern Arizona University, local and nationally elected officials and distinguished guests ceremoniously opened TGen North, a pathogen genomics and biodefense research lab located in Flagstaff. The venture is among the first in a growing number of facilities across the country whose research centers on the detection and prevention of biological threats.

Although operational for the past year, the ceremony marked the move to TGen North's permanent facility that contains more than 4,500 square feet of state-of-the-art research laboratories and office space. The focus of TGen North's initial research activities involve common infectious diseases such as influenza and valley fever, important hospital infections such as drug-resistant staphylococcus, and bioterrorism agents, including tularemia and plague.

TGen North is led by Dr. Paul Keim, Director of Pathogen Genomics at TGen and the Cowden Endowed Chair in Microbiology at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. He is also one of the nation's premier experts on anthrax.