Infectious Disease Biological Expert

Expertise

• Development of domestic and international relationships in laboratory research, medical epidemiology, and public health response and disease ecology.
• Biotechnology, pediatric oncology, product development, knowledge management and program inception.
• Government and academic leadership experience in laboratory research and global health studies.
• Private sector experience in biotechnology, pediatric oncology, product development, knowledge management and program inception.
• Expertise in biomedical research and laboratory science, and team development.
• Professional research expertise in microbiology, virology, immunology and disease ecology.
• Microbiology, virology, immunology and disease ecology.
• Biosafety level 3 and 4 high containment laboratory research and operations.
• Business development in start-up biotechnology and biomedical/life science applications.
• Biomedical and life science research and applications.

Expert Witness Experience

• Review of clinical records for infectious disease litigation including.
• Consumer litigation for medically related cases involving safety negligence.
• Evaluation of research procedures related to quality data management and assurance.

Experience

Undisclosed, 2007 - Present

• Branch Chief for the Laboratory Reference and Research Branch in the Division of Sexually Transmitted Disease Prevention, for HIV, AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention - reference and research activity development and knowledge management for scientific program.
• Provide leadership of laboratory operations providing diagnostic, isolation typing, characterization and research for sexually transmitted bacterial diseases.
• Successfully employed strategic planning to facilitate effective operations and expand reference capabilities of the laboratory.
• Assist in organizational knowledge management to facilitate higher organizational value and efficiency.

Team Leader,2009 - 2013

• As the Microbiologist Manager for the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Disease, Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, Poxvirus and Rabies Branch, Poxvirus program.
• Responsible for leading and supervising the scientific program of the poxvirus program including senior science staff (MDs, PHD, DVM level scientists) for public health disease response including immunology, epidemiology, disease ecology and modeling, molecular diagnostics and virology, immunology and protein based diagnostics related to poxviruses and the WHO collaborating center for smallpox virus research.
• Successful development of global program to study disease ecology of poxviruses, and zoonotic potential of emerging viral diseases.
• Senior role in establishment of effective biosafety level 3 and 4 high containment laboratory operations including development of a high containment operations working group for the CDC.
• Representation of scientific program nationally and internationally including innovative original research of smallpox virus research and preparedness interface.
• Leadership and supervision for 5 teams engaged in animal science and ecology, epidemiology, molecular diagnostics and molecular virology, and immunology and proteomics investigations.
• Leadership in the WHO collaborating center for smallpox and orthopoxvirus research, including level 4 laboratory operations.
• Knowledge management for program supervision, program management and program development initiatives.
• Experienced skills in communications with over 75 publications and oral presentations of scientific research, program development and knowledge management.
• Effective laboratory leadership in immunological diagnostic development and implementation including novel assay design for immune measurements including vaccine efficacy.
• Leadership of original research program for poxviruses and preparedness research for bioterrorism response.
• Successful team building and leadership development for compliance with quality control standardization.
• Acquisition of funds from internal federal sources and independent funding through collaborations.
• Leadership in bioterrorism preparedness research.

Unit lead, 2003 - 2013

• Lead Microbiologist for the Proteomics and Immunology laboratory, Poxvirus program, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Disease, Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, focused on Poxvirus and Rabies Branch, Poxvirus program.

Associate Director, 2007 - 2009

• For the Laboratory of Science, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Disease, Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, developed and lead research group for development of serologic diagnostic assays for poxviruses and built a team of scientist to provide core public health research and diagnostics as well as lead operations and original research.
• Oversight and development of smallpox virus research program as a collaborating center for the WHO.
• Leadership in laboratory sciences and implementation of scientific resource innovations across the division. Provide leadership in coordination of research program resources in support of division mission to provide leadership in emerging disease outbreaks and global surveillance.
• Recruitment and developed team of scientist and skilled laboratorians to provide diagnostic innovation and implementation of assays for outbreak investigations and local and global capacity building.
• Provide global support for technology transfer in support of surveillance and diagnostic programs.
• Communicate program achievements internationally through publications and oral presentations.
• Leadership in bioterrorism preparedness research and specifically smallpox research.
• Product development and testing for bioassays and vaccines.
• Team participant in high containment biosafety level 4 research agenda including protocol development and implementation for smallpox and monkeypox research agendas, and training of staff for level 4 research procedures.
• Teaching and training of junior staff, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.
• Division level laboratory representative to the agency.
• Provide scientific, technical and administrative leadership for laboratory operations.
• Facilitation of communications stemming from laboratory science and epidemiology including written communications.
• Alliances with academic and corporate partners.
• Organizational design and team development.
• Team building through recruitment and hiring of specialists in multiple laboratories over the past decade.
• Acquisition of funds from internal federal sources and independent funding through collaborations.
• Leadership in outbreak management and international research teams.
• Quality control standards in laboratory processes, (internal compliance and FDA rules).

Undisclosed Technology Company, 1999 - Present

Founder and Managing Partner, Atlanta GA

• Independent bioscience and biotechnology consultancy for advancement of biological, medical and life science technologies through knowledge management and evaluation.
• Management of knowledge for research related to product development.
• Assessment of programs for development of vaccines, diagnostics, over the counter products and bioscience platforms.
• Evaluation of bioscience for startup companies.
• Innovative business development conceptual think tank.
• Project design and proposal writing/conceptualization for startup companies.
• Medical pharmaceutical evaluation of OTC supplements.
• Consulting on drug screening studies and drug therapeutic efficacy testing.
• Consulting on fitness and applications of plant extracts.
• Genomic and proteomic applications evaluation.
• Biomarker discovery research including microarray.
• Regulatory consulting on product development projects.
• Trial based decisions for product design and development.
• Assessment of research performed in space in collaboration with NASA for gene expression evaluation and vaccine development potential.

Honors & Publications

Credentials

Focused Studies

• Postdoctoral Fellowship training, College of veterinary medicine, University of Tennessee Knoxville: Viral infections and viral immunology related to vaccine development and host interactions.
• University of South Alabama, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, Mobile Alabama: Medical sciences with focus on microbiology, biology of host systems and infectious disease.
• University of Louisville, Department of Biology, Louisville Kentucky: Fundamentals of biology, including ecology of plants, animals and aquatic species, cellular, molecular and microbiology, invertebrate ecology, animal zoology and physiology and community ecosystems based studies.

Academic and Professional Affiliations

• American Society for Microbiology
• Board Member CURE Childhood Cancer and Chair of scientific advisory council.

Awards

Recognition in Performance

• Research leadership merit award for performance. Nominated for outstanding leadership in research and public health response.
• Award for outstanding contributions to the safety and security of work in new High Containment laboratories. Poxvirus Team - outstanding contributions to commissioning new high containment laboratories (BSL 3 and 4 and vivarium) for poxvirus research including writing manuals.
• Award for outstanding leadership in volunteering for 18 months service as Associate Director of Laboratory Science for the Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases.
• Award of Excellence in Public Health Epidemiology and Laboratory Research. Poxvirus Program.
• Individual award for laboratory management and diagnostic testing during the 2003 U.S. Monkeypox outbreak.

Publications and Patents

• Author and Co-Author of national and international scientific papers in medical, wildlife and surgical journals
• 4 U.S. patents.

Education

• Ph.D. Medical Sciences, Microbiology & Immunology, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL.
• B.A. Biology, University of Louisville, Department of Biology, Louisville KY