2001 Richard J. Duma/NFID Annual Press Conference and Symposium on Infectious Diseases
Please Choose a Presenter
» David M. Asher, MD
» Linda A. Detwiler, D.V.M.
» R. Gordon Douglas, Jr., M.D.
» Richard J. Duma, M.D., Ph.D.
» Thomas G. Ksiazek, D.V.M., Ph.D.
» John E. McGowan, Jr., M.D.
» Robert A. Whitney, Jr., D.V.M.
David M. Asher, M.D.
Chief, Laboratory of Bacterial, Parasitic, and Unconventional Agents
Division of Emerging and Transfusion-Transmitted Diseases
Office of Blood Research and Review
Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research
United States Food and Drug Administration
Rockville, MD
David M. Asher, M.D., born in Chicago, is a graduate of Harvard College and the Harvard Medical School. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Pediatrics and a member of the American Society for Virology, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and the Society for Pediatric Research. Dr. Asher joined the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1995 after working for more than 25 years in the Laboratory of Central Nervous System Studies at the National Institutes of Health, where he conducted research on transmissible spongiform encephalopathies and other infectious diseases. He is now the Chief and Supervisory Medical Officer in the newly formed Laboratory of Bacterial, Parasitic and Unconventional Agents. He participates in regulatory activities, serving on FDA-wide committees dealing with policy issues related to the spongiform encephalopathies and on similar committees in the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) and other FDA centers. He also participates in activities of the World Health Organization concerning transmissible spongiform encephalopathies.
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Linda A. Detwiler, D.V.M.
Senior Staff Veterinarian
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Robbinsville, NJ
Linda A. Detwiler is Senior Staff Veterinarian, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Veterinary Services, Emergency Programs Staff. She has worked in various veterinarian positions with USDA since 1985. Prior to joining USDA, Dr. Detwiler was with a private food animal practice.
Dr. Detwiler coordinates APHIS surveillance, prevention, and education activities for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). She provides technical advice on the transmissable spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) for USDA, the public, industry groups, and foreign governments. She also acts as media spokesperson for APHIS activities regarding TSEs in national and international arenas. Dr. Detwiler serves on national and international TSE advisory committees. She coordinated the development of a national BSE response plan and has written publications, articles, and decision memos on TSEs.
Dr. Detwiler has been an active member since 1990 and is the coordinator of USDA, APHIS' TSE Working Group. She also serves on TSE Advisory Committees or Working Groups to the European Union, Argentina, the United Kingdom and the FDA. She served on the combined industry/government BSE committee in the early 1990's. Dr. Detwiler has also been involved with the sheep industry in their efforts to control scrapie since 1985 and served as one of the APHIS representatives on the Scrapie Negotiated Rulemaking Committee.
Dr. Detwiler received her D.V.M. from the Ohio State University, College of Veterinary Medicine. She is a graduate of Delaware Valley College of Science and Agriculture with B.S. in Dairy Science.
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R. Gordon Douglas, Jr., M.D.
Princeton, NJ
Dr. R. Gordon Douglas, Jr. was President, Merck Vaccines, responsible for the research, development, manufacturing, and marketing of Merck's vaccine products until May, 1999. He grew the vaccine business from $300 million to $1.2 billion, launched four new products, invested heavily in manufacturing facilities, as well as R & D, and expanded the business globally. He currently serves as consultant to the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institutes of Health, and serves on boards of several biotech companies and non-profits interested in vaccine and world health.
Prior to joining Merck in 1989, Dr. Douglas had a distinguished career as a physician and academician, specializing in infectious diseases. From 1982 to 1990, he was Professor of Medicine and Chairman, Department of Medicine, Cornell University Medical College and Physician-in-Chief, The New York Hospital. He also served as Head of Infectious Disease Unit at the University of Rochester School of Medicine.
Dr. Douglas has published more than 190 scientific papers and was co-editor, with Gerald L. Mandell and John E. Bennett, of the first three editions of the major textbook of infectious diseases, Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases.
Dr. Douglas is a graduate of Princeton University and Cornell University Medical College. He received his medical staff training at The New York Hospital and Johns Hopkins Hospital. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine, the Assocation of Amercian Physicians, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and numerous other organizations.
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Richard J. Duma, M.D., Ph.D.
Director
Division of Infectious Diseases
Halifax Medical Center
Daytona Beach, Florida
Dr. Duma is director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach, FL, and clinical professor of medicine at the Medical College of Virginia (MCV). He is also a trustee and one of the founders of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID), a nonprofit, public foundation established in 1973, to support research and education into the causes, cures and prevention of infectious diseases. Dr. Duma, known internationally in the field of infectious diseases, was elected vice president of the NFID Board of Directors from 1973 to 1975 and president from 1975 to 1991. He served as its executive director from 1991 to 1995.
Prior to becoming executive director of NFID, Dr. Duma was a tenured professor of medicine, pathology and microbiology and chairman, Division of Infectious Diseases, MCV. He was also director of hospital epidemiology and chairman of the MCV Hospital Infection Control Committee.
Dr. Duma has served as chairman of the Steering Committee for the National Coalition for Adult Immunization, which is a national network of more than 120 health care organizations dedicated to promoting adult immunization, primarily through educational and motivational activities. He was also the first chairman of the U.S. Pharmacopeia National Coordinating Committee on Large Volume Parenterals, which played a major role in setting standards and ensuring the safety of the nation's intravenous fluids and medicinals. He is also a long standing member of the Data Monitoring Safety Board for the Mycoses Study Group of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. As the author of more than 100 scientific articles and research studies, he has written more than 30 chapters and is a reviewer for numerous medical journals.
Dr. Duma received his medical degree from the University of Virginia Medical School and his doctorate in experimental pathology and microbiology from Virginia Commonwealth University. He is board-certified in internal medicine and infectious diseases and is a fellow of both the American College of Physicians and the Infectious Diseases Society of America, as well as a member of numerous other professional societies. He is a past president of the Infectious Diseases Society of Florida.
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Thomas G. Ksiazek, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Acting Chief, Special Pathogens Branch
Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases
National Center for Infectious Diseases
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta, GA
Thomas G. Ksiazek, D.V.M., Ph.D. is Acting Chief, Special Pathogens Branch, Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). He has been Chief, Disease Assessment Section, Special Pathogens Branch since 1991. Prior to joining the CDC, Dr. Ksiazek was Chief, Rapid Diagnosis Department, Disease Assessment Division, U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), Ft. Detrick.
Dr. Ksiazek has been honored with many awards including: The Army Surgeon General's Award of an "A" skill identifer (1990); Department of the Army Research and Development Achievement Award for Technical Achievement (1990); Pekka Halonen Award for Diagnostic Virology (1993); Founders Lector, American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine (1995); Stitt Lecture, Association of Military Surgeons of the United States (1995); Senior Biological Research Service (1997); HHS Secretary¼s Award for Distinguished Service (1999).
Dr. Ksiazek received his Ph.D. from the University of California and his M.S. from the University of Wisconsin. He earned his D.V.M. and bachelor¼s degrees from Kansas State University.
He is a member of several organizations, including the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene; American Society for Microbiology; and the American Committee on Arthropod-borne Viruses.
Dr. Ksiazek is the author or co-author of over 200 research papers.
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John E. McGowan, Jr., M.D.
Professor of Epidemiology
Rollins School of Public Health
Emory University
Atlanta, Georgia
Dr. John E. McGowan, Jr. is Professor of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia. He also is Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) and Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. McGowan worked from 1973-1998 at Grady Memorial Hospital, Atlanta, Georgia, where he was an Infectious Diseases Physician, Director of the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory and Chair of the Infection Control Service Team.
He trained at Dartmouth and Harvard Medical School, Boston City Hospital, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). He has been at Emory since 1973. He is board certified in internal medicine, infectious diseases, and medical microbiology.
Dr. McGowan has served on the governing boards of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the American Society for Microbiology. He was active in the formation of, and served as first President of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. He has been associate editor or served on the editorial board of several medical journals, and has been author or co-author of more than 250 papers, books, or book chapters in the medical literature.
Dr. McGowan has received past and current research funding from both governmental and private sources. Current research grants are from Cubist Pharmaceuticals; the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases; the American Society for Health-System Pharmacists Research Foundation; Kimberly-Clark; Pfizer, Incorporated; Aventis Pharmaceuticals; Bayer Corporation; Pharmaceuticals Division; and AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals. All deal with research into aspects of the epidemiology and molecular microbiology of antimicrobial resistance and its relationship to antimicrobial use.
Dr. McGowan is listed in both The Best Doctors in America and Who's Who in America. He is a member of both Alpha Omega Alpha national medical honor society (Harvard Medical School, 1966) and Delta Omega national public health honor society (Emory University, 1996). He has given annual and named lectureships both in the United States and abroad for several groups, recently including the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, the Australasian Infectious Diseases Society, and the Japanese Society of Chemotherapy. He has won awards from students for his teaching in both Emory University School of Medicine and the Rollins School of Public Health, where he was named Student Government Professor of the Year in 1995. In 1998, he received a career achievement award from the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology in America for extraordinary contributions to infection control and hospital epidemiology.
Dr. McGowan has served as consultant to numerous governmental and industry study groups and task forces on issues relating to control of antimicrobial resistance, including clinical trials of new antimicrobials and of procedures to improve antimicrobial use. He formerly chaired the Microbial Devices Review Panel of the Food and Drug Administration, and served as member or consultant of this panel for 12 years. He now serves as an advisor on antimicrobial susceptibility testing to the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards.
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Robert A. Whitney, D.V.M.
President
EARTHSPAN
Steilacoom, WA
Dr. Whitney is former Deputy Surgeon General, United States Public Health Service. He is the president of EARTHSPAN, a not-for-profit institute dedicated to environmental health, natural resource conservation, biodiversity and ecosystem preservation.
Dr. Whitney¼s public service career began as a veterinary officer in the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps from 1959-1971. He served as director of the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps Training Program in Laboratory Animal Medicine at Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland from 1965-1970. He also served one year in South Vietnam at the Rabies Diagnostic Laboratory in Da Nang. In 1971 he entered the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service with duty station at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. He served in numerous positions at NIH, including Founding Director of the National Center for Research Resources.
While at NIH, he served from 1985-1989 as Chief Veterinary Officer for the U.S. Public Health Service. From 1992-1994 he served as Deputy Surgeon General of the U.S. Public Health Service. In 1993, he was appointed Acting Surgeon General of the United States.
In 1994 he retired from federal service and became president of EARTHSPAN. EARTHSPAN uses satellite technology to track birds and other species, and to identify critical habitats and environmental conditions around the world.
He has been recognized many times for his public service, including the American Veterinary Medical Association Animal Welfare Award in 1994 and the Surgeon General's Medallion in 1993. He has received numerous medals for meritorious service to the U.S. Public Health Service. In 2000 he was name to the Oklahoma State University Hall of Fame, and has been named a Distinguished Alumnus at the Ohio State University, where he received his master's degree in pharmacology.
He is the author of the Laboratory Primate Handbook, as well as more than 40 scientific publications. He is a past president of the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine and the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science.
Dr. Whitney serves on the board, or is a consultant for numerous health-related organizations, including the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, the American Veterinary Epidemiology Society, the Scientists/ Center for Animal Welfare, the Pan American Health Organization and the NASA Bion Project.