Jerry Jaax is the Associate Vice President for Research Compliance and University Veterinarian at K-State. In this role he is responsible for University-wide compliance with applicable regulatory laws and guidelines for animal care and use programs, research involving human subjects, and recombinant DNA activities and biosafety. He has been heavily involved in the effort to bring the National Bio and Agrodefense Facility (NBAF) to Manhattan KS.

He received his DVM from KSU in 1972 and entered the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps. In the latter stages of his military career, he was the Chief of the Veterinary Medicine Division at the U. S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) at Ft. Detrick MD where he concurrently served as the director of the Army’s post-graduate training program and the Consultant to the Surgeon General of the Army for the specialty of Laboratory Animal Medicine. In 1996, he was named the Director of the Biological Arms Control Treaty Office at Ft Detrick MD, and was responsible for implementation and compliance of the U.S. Army with all international biological warfare treaties and agreements.

While assigned to USAMRIID, he was a key participant in the Reston Ebola virus outbreak, in Reston VA – described in the #1 NY Times Bestseller, “The Hot Zone” by Richard Preston. He has published and lectured internationally on bioterrorism, agroterrorism, emerging infectious disease issues and emergency response.