Opponents and supporters of a proposed high-security infectious-diseases laboratory on the UC Davis campus have scheduled dueling rallies today during a key visit by officials from the National Institutes of Health.

Both parties say they want to make the NIH aware of the range of local views on the proposed biolab.

"I will be in front of Mrak Hall protesting against my alma mater ... because if UCD builds this biolab, it is playing Russian roulette with our lives and inviting a very palpable danger into our town," said former Davis Mayor Julie Partansky.

"I support the biolab," said Albert Aldrete, a Davis resident and UC Davis alumnus who plans to attend the rally today. "It's in the interest of public health and we don't have anything like it in the western United States. This is an ideal and logical place to put this lab."

About 30 opponents of the biolab staged a protest Wednesday evening, holding a silent vigil in Davis' Central Park.

The protesters intended to draw attention to the alleged silencing of people's voices because university and NIH officials have locked the public out of today's closed-door sessions on the lab. Many protesters said they do not trust UC Davis to adequately portray the level of local opposition to the project.

"These labs will be publicly funded, so our voices deserve to be heard. UCD and NIH may be unwilling to listen to the community, but we will be heard," said Maura Metz, of the group Stop UCD Bio Lab Now.

Opponents of the lab have scheduled a rally today at 11 a.m. at Mrak Hall. Lab supporters will rally at the same time in front of Cowell Student Health Center.

NIH officials are scheduled to meet with campus administrators and professors today about the lab.

The NIH will fund one or two high-security labs in the nation where scientists will study some of the world's most dangerous pathogens, including Ebola, anthrax and Marburg virus.

Therapies and vaccines for other less exotic diseases, such as antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis and West Nile virus, also will be researched. Proponents say the lab would allow local public health officials to respond rapidly to outbreaks of diseases and develop life-saving treatments.

At least five institutions -- including UC Davis -- remain in the running for the federal funds for the labs, to be awarded in the fall.

Officials at UC Davis hope to build the $200 million project on campus near the intersection of Interstate 80 and Highway 113.

The proposal has ignited significant controversy in the Davis community. In late February, the Davis City Council voted unanimously to oppose the project, saying it was unwelcome in the local community. NIH officials have said community support -- or opposition -- for the facilities is weighed in determining where they will be built.

Local opponents of the lab say they fear it could become a target for terrorists. They also say security breaches by employees or outsiders could spread pathogens from the facility throughout the community. Proponents, who have been less visible in the local debate, say the lab would bolster the public health of communities in California.

Marj Dickinson, assistant vice chancellor for governmental affairs and community relations at UC Davis, said most of the discussions with NIH today will focus on design, engineering, fiscal, and management operations of the proposed lab. She stressed the NIH had dictated the meetings' structure and attendance.

Dickinson also said university officials intend to outline the level of local opposition and support. "We are going to tell them that there is overwhelming support throughout the region and that there is localized opposition," Dickinson said.