A federal judge has empaneled a jury in the first trial related to the fungal meningitis outbreak that killed more than 60 people and sickened hundreds more.

Opening arguments are scheduled for Monday in the trial of Barry Cadden, the first person to go to trial on charges that he was responsible for deaths that resulted from the 2012 outbreak. Cadden was a pharmacist and owner at the New England Compounding Center, a pharmaceutical compounding center in Framingham, that was the source of the outbreak.

On Friday, US District Judge Richard G. Stearns selected 15 ethnically and racially diverse jurors — 10 women and 5 men — after a screening process that began Wednesday. Three of the jurors will serve as alternates, but Stearns said he would not identify which ones until the jury is ready to begin deliberations. The trial could last two months, and more than 175 potential prosecution witnesses have been identified.

The judge advised the jurors that the case will garner national attention, and that they should avoid researching the background of the case.

“Do not listen to or read anything about the case in any way,’’ the judge said, before dismissing the jurors for the weekend. They are scheduled to return for opening statements by 9 a.m. Monday.

Cadden faces charges of racketeering and causing the deaths of at least 25 of the victims. Prosecutors allege that Cadden and other NECC pharmacists and workers skirted industry regulations, which led to contaminated drugs that were sold to patients, knowing that doing so could cause health problems, including death. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention attributed at least 64 deaths to the outbreak, and hundreds more people were sickened.

Another pharmacist, supervisor Glenn Chin, was also indicted on charges that he caused deaths, but he will be tried separately. Six other former NECC employees will later be tried on charges that they participated in a conspiracy.

Three other defendants had their cases dismissed, one pleaded guilty and is cooperating with authorities, and two others were convicted of financial crimes and sentenced to probation. In all, 14 defendants were indicted in 2012.

Milton J. Valencia can be reached at milton.valencia@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @miltonvalencia.