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Notes 4, 2002 > Personnel Notes
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TB Notes 4, 2002
Personnel Notes
Tina Albrecht, MPH, a public health advisor (PHA) with
the Field Services Branch, was reassigned on August 12 to Berkeley,
CA, where she works at the state TB Control Branch as the Outbreak
Response Coordinator. In addition to providing technical assistance
for outbreaks and extended contact investigations, her current responsibilities
also include implementing an exposure control plan, helping to develop
a formalized mechanism for evaluation of the outbreak team, and
tracking costs associated with responding to outbreaks. Prior to
her assignment to California, Tina was a PHA trainee in Ft. Lauderdale,
FL, where she provided case management and DOT/DOPT services, conducted
contact investigations, and assisted with data collection and analysis
for the production of ARPEs. Before joining CDC, she was a biological
science technician with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in New
Orleans, Louisiana. She earned a bachelors degree in biology from
California State University, Chico, California, in 1994 and a masters
degree in public health in tropical medicine from Tulane University
in 1999. She served with the Peace Corps in Ghana from 1995 to 1997.
Anjabebu (Lily) Asrat, MPH, a CDC Public Health Prevention
Specialist, began a 6-month assignment in September with DTBE’s
Research and Evaluation Branch (REB). She received her MPH degree
from Tulane University's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.
Lily will be working on TB case management issues with Robin Shrestha-Kuwahara
and Maureen Wilce.
Sandra Doster Bart, policy coordinator in the Office of
the Executive Secretariat and a former DTBE employee, has retired
after 38 years of service. Sandy started her federal career at CDC
in 1964 as a secretary. In the mid-1970s, she began attending college
at night to earn her degree. After obtaining a bachelors degree,
she expressed interest in becoming a public health advisor (PHA),
and was assigned to the field by John Seggerson, then chief of field
service activities in DTBE. She carried out her PHA responsibilities
well and was respected by her colleagues and supervisors. She eventually
returned to Atlanta as a PHA in the CDC immunization program. She
then relocated to Washington, DC, and in 1985, joined the staff
of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health. In 1995, Sandy
moved to the Office of the Executive Secretariat, where she served
as Acting Deputy Director of the Office during the final months
of HHS Secretary Donna Shalala's tenure. Her team received the Secretary's
Award for Distinguished Service, the highest award the Secretary
can bestow. HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson said that "Sandy
Bart's time at HHS was marked by her dedication to excellence, intense
professionalism, and indefatigable commitment to the American people.
She was an irreplaceable member of the HHS community, and we will
miss her generous spirit." Sandy plans to return to her hometown
of Atlanta, Georgia.
Betsy Carter, MPH, has been selected as a Health Education
Specialist in the DTBE Communications and Education Branch (CEB).
Betsy first joined CEB as an Association of Schools of Public Health
(ASPH) Fellow in September 2000, after completing an MPH in Health
Promotion and Education from the University of South Carolina School
of Public Health. In the 2 years that Betsy has been with DTBE,
she has made major contributions on a number of projects, including
the TB Information Guide CD-ROM; the TB Education and Training Network
meeting and workshop; the Duty Officer survey; and the development,
evaluation, and implementation of the new DTBE intranet site. Betsy
made the transition to full-time DTBE employee on August 12.
Phyllis Cruise has accepted the Field Services Branch position
of Chief, Field Operations Section I, and will be replacing Olga
Joglar. Phyllis is currently the senior public health advisor assigned
to the Texas TB Control Program. Phyllis has a wealth of experience
both in the field and here in headquarters. She has recently proved
invaluable in providing programmatic assistance following outbreaks
in Georgia and Oklahoma. It will be a pleasure to welcome Phyllis
back to headquarters as she begins a new phase in her career.
Nick DeLuca, MA, was selected as a Lead Health Education
Specialist in the DTBE Communications and Education Branch (CEB).
Nick began his career with CEB as an Association of Schools of Public
Health (ASPH) Fellow. He came to DTBE from the University of Alabama
at Birmingham School of Public Health in 1997. In his time in DTBE,
he has had lead responsibility for a wide variety of products and
activities, including the Web-based self-study modules, self-study
modules 6-9, the TB resource guide, and the District Training Modules
for use in Russia. Nick will be the team leader for behavioral science,
training, and education activities.
Kim Do, assigned to the Los Angeles TB Control Program,
was recently selected for the public health advisor (PHA) position
in Los Angeles. Currently, his duties include working with the detention
program, chairing the weekly detention meeting, and acting as liaison
between district health centers, the TB Control Program, and MDRTB
patients. Kim is the contract monitor and technical consultant for
a local community-based organization hired to do targeted testing
for LTBI in the foreign-born Asian population in Los Angeles County.
When he was first assigned to the Los Angles TB Control Program
in 1999, he was a supervisor and a chairperson for TB Control's
Health and Wellness Program. Prior to accepting the 1999 DTBE assignment,
he worked for the Division of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (DSTD).
His duty locations while in DSTD included West Palm Beach Florida
from 1989 to 1990; Washington, DC, from 1990 to 1992; and the Los
Angles DSTD Program from 1992 to 1999. Kim attended the University
of Colorado, where he received a BS in Kinesiology in 1988.
Daniel Dohony was selected as the senior public health
advisor (PHA) to the Philadelphia TB Program. Dan came to us from
the National Center for Environmental Health, Division of Environmental
Hazards and Health Effects, Lead Poisoning Branch. He worked in
the field as a senior PHA for the Philadelphia Childhood Lead Poisoning
and Prevention Program from 1993 to 2000. There he acted as the
assistant to the local program director. He also served as program
chief of the Allegheny county lead program in Pennsylvania from
1991 to 1993. Prior to this, Dan worked for the Division of Sexually
Transmitted Disease Prevention in a number of different positions,
including Assistant Program Director in Los Angeles from 1989 to
1991, State Program Director in Mississippi from 1987 to 1989, Regional
Supervisor in Tennessee from 1984 to 1987, and Program Representative
in Maryland and Ohio from 1981 to 1984. Dan started his assignment
on June 2, 2002.
Hsin-Hsin Foo, MPH, joined DTBE in September as an ASPH/CDC
Fellow. Hsin-Hsin (pronounced Shing-Shing) attended Columbia University,
where she completed a bachelor of arts degree in biology. Prior
to receiving her masters degree in public health in Community Health
Sciences from UCLA, she worked at a medical education company and
a community health research group, as well as at several advertising
and marketing firms. Her passion lies with communications, especially
the development of new technologies. She assisted in the production
of radio and TV advertisements regarding various health issues,
and produced a video and Web site. In addition, she developed print
materials including a manual for pro-bono attorneys and a series
of brochures targeting battered Asian/Pacific Islander women. In
DTBE, she will be involved with a variety of projects in the Communications
and Education Branch.
Maria Fraire, MPH, was selected as a Lead Health Education
Specialist in the DTBE Communications and Education Branch (CEB).
She started her career in DTBE as an Association of Schools of Public
Health (ASPH) Fellow. Maria came to DTBE from Emory University in
1996. In her time here, she has had lead responsibility for a wide
variety of products and activities, including the implementation
of the new TB Program Managers' course, update of the Core Curriculum,
and content development and management of the DTBE internet and
intranet. Maria will be the team leader for communication activities.
Jennifer Giroux, MD, was assigned in late July to work
in the Field Services Branch with Dr. John Jereb while she completes
a preventive medicine residency. Jennifer is also completing her
masters degree in public health from the University of Minnesota
School of Public Health where she was a Fellow with the Center of
American Indian and Minority Health. She became interested in TB
after investigating high TB mortality rates among American Indians
in South Dakota in 1998. While she works at DTBE, Jennifer is interested
in learning about methods of increasing TB program productivity.
Jennifer received her medical degree from the University of South
Dakota in 1996 and then completed her internship at the University
of North Dakota in Fargo. She joined the Epidemic Intelligence Service
(EIS) program in 1998, and served as the EIS Officer assigned to
the Indian Health Service National Epidemiology Program in Albuquerque,
New Mexico, until 2000. During her EIS years, Jennifer investigated
a number of illnesses, including a food-borne outbreak, methicillin-resistant
staphylococcus aureus, Hanta virus, plague, fatal TB cases, hepatitis
B mortality, and molar (false) pregnancies. Jennifer is a member
of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe of South Dakota. She has worked with
the Indian Health Service, where she focused on prevention of HIV/AIDS
and cancer in the Great Plains states.
Teresa Goss left the DTBE Field Services
Branch (FSB) in August 2002 after accepting a promotion to the position
of Management and Program Analyst in the National Center for Infectious
Diseases, Scientific Resource Program, at Clifton Road. She is returning
to DTBE on November 18 as a Management and Program Analyst in the
DTBE Communications and Education Branch. She is assuming the duties
and responsibilities previously performed in CEB by Vivian Siler.
Teresa was a Program Operations Assistant in FSB from May 2000 until
August 2002. Prior to her assignment in FSB, Teresa worked as a
Program Operations Assistant in the DTBE Surveillance and Epidemiology
Branch from 1998 to 2000.
Tim Holtz, MD, MPH, has joined the International Activities
office. Tim is originally from Iowa, went to medical school at the
University of Iowa, has an MPH from Johns Hopkins University, and
completed his internal medicine residency at Cambridge Hospital,
Massachusetts. Tim has extensive international health experience,
having spent time working in Haiti, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Thailand,
and South Africa during medical school and residency. Following
his residency, he completed a 1-year fellowship in human rights
and health at Columbia University, and spent that entire year living
with Tibetan refugees in Dharamsala, India. Tim was also a founding
member of Doctors for Global Health, a human rights and health nongovernmental
organization (NGO) that has primary care projects in Mexico, El
Salvador, Nicaragua, Peru, Uganda, and Nigeria. He was an Epidemic
Intelligence Service (EIS) officer from 1999 to 2001 in the Malaria
Branch, National Center for Infectious Diseases, and has just completed
a 1-year preventive medicine residency in New York City. Tim will
be working on projects in Latvia and South Africa.
Michele Huitrec, MPH, has joined DTBE in the Communications
and Education Branch (CEB) as an Association of Teachers of Preventive
Medicine (ATPM) Fellow. In 2000 Michele earned an MPH from the University
of Michigan School of Public Health in health behavior and health
education. Most recently, she worked as a Web content producer for
the Mayo clinic’s consumer health Web site, www.Mayoclinic.com.
Her work there included researching and writing health articles
and creating health management programs. Michele will be working
on a variety of projects in CEB, one of which will include World
TB Day. Michele began working in CEB on September 16.
Stormy Hulit completed a summer internship with the Field
Services Branch (FSB). She came to DTBE from the Omaha Reservation,
where she is pursuing a nursing degree at Little Priest Tribal College
in Winnebago, Nebraska. In 2001 she joined the American Indian Science
and Engineering Society (AISES), which offers summer internships
to student members. In June 2002, Stormy accepted a position with
Dr. John Jereb in FSB. While in Atlanta, she helped with office
work throughout DTBE while studying the fundamentals of TB pathogenesis,
epidemiology, and program operations. For one of her projects she
prepared a report about the current TB control systems for Eastern
Nebraska, and ultimately went on an Epi-Aid field investigation
as a data-management assistant. "I want to thank all the people
at CDC for the warm welcome that I received when I got here. It
really meant a lot to me," she said. She is now advising her
peers to get involved in career opportunities available for American
Indian scholars.
Kashef Ijaz, MD, MPH, has been selected as the Chief, Outbreak
Investigations Section, SEB. Kashef received his MD from King Edward
Medical College, University of Punjab, Pakistan, and his MPH in
epidemiology from the College of Public Health, University of Oklahoma.
After completing his training, he worked as medical epidemiologist
with the Division of TB at the Arkansas Department of Health and
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, where he held an appointment
as Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary
and Critical Care. During his 7 years at the Arkansas Department
of Health, he worked with TB experts like William W. Stead, Joseph
H. Bates, Kathleen Eisenach, and Don Cave. He investigated numerous
TB outbreaks in prisons, homeless shelters, nursing homes, and other
high-risk population groups. He was also one of the principal investigators
for the Arkansas sentinel surveillance site for CDC’s National Genotyping
and Surveillance Network and the principal investigator for the
Arkansas TB Epidemiological Studies Consortium site before joining
the Outbreak Investigations Section in the Surveillance and Epidemiology
Branch, DTBE, in January 2002. Kashef has published in peer-reviewed
journals and has presented extensively on tuberculosis both at national
and international meetings.
Cristel Johnson has joined DTBE’S Surveillance and Epidemiology
Branch in the Surveillance Section as a software transition specialist.
She will be assisting in the transition to NEDSS and the next maintenance
release of TIMS. She has a BA in Business Administration and Management
of Information Systems and 17 years of project management and technology
experience. Most recently she was the technology manager for a private
K-12 school, where she managed all technical projects, a 3-person
IT staff, all vendor relationships, and the annual IT budget. Earlier
in her career (1990), she worked for CDC as part of the AIDS microcomputing
team responsible for the data management and support of the AIDS
surveillance system. Christel is very skilled in providing support
to end-users of software systems, and will be a valuable member
of our team in collaborations with our stakeholders, FSB, and CSB
on the TB program area module development for NEDSS.
Olga Joglar has accepted the Field Services Branch position
of senior public health advisor in Puerto Rico. Olga has been the
Chief of Field Operations Section I and has done an outstanding
job in that position. During her tenure, she assisted in the reorganization
of the program consultant project areas and has served as a mentor
to two new program consultants. She will be missed; happily, Olga
will remain in the DTBE family as she begins a new phase in her
career in Puerto Rico. Olga's transfer will be effective in November
2002.
Dolly Katz, Ph.D. (EIS '95), joined DTBE at the end of
August as an epidemiologist in the Surveillance and Epidemiology
Branch, Epidemiologic Studies Section. Dolly most recently worked
for the Florida Department of Health's Bureau of Epidemiology as
the regional epidemiologist for the 12 counties of south Florida.
She was also an adjunct assistant professor of epidemiology at the
University of Miami School of Medicine. She received her MPH and
her PhD in epidemiology from the University of Michigan School of
Public Health. Before she became an epidemiologist, Dolly was a
journalist; for most of her journalism career she was the medical
reporter for the Detroit Free Press. Dolly will be working with
the new TB Epidemiologic Studies Consortium as a senior epidemiologist.
Mark Miner was selected for the senior Public Health Advisor
(PHA) position in the Baltimore TB Program. Mark previously worked
as a Public Health Representative II with the New York State Department
of Health TB Bureau from January 1993 to August 2002. His duties
included monitoring TB cases and suspects for a 14-county region
in Central New York. This involved field visits to various county
health departments where he reviewed completion of morbidity reports,
and consulted with county clinical and administrative staff. Prior
to working with the New York State Department of Health, Mark worked
as a Public Health Sanitarian for the health departments in Oneida
and Madison counties in New York. Mark also taught health classes
to middle school and high school students at the Canastota Central
School District in New York. Mark started his assignment on August
11, 2002.
Abraham Miranda, MD, joined the staff of the International
Activity office in July 2002 as an Epidemic Intelligence Service
(EIS) officer (2002-2004). Abe is board certified in internal medicine
and in infectious diseases and comes to CDC from a position as Deputy
Medical Director for the Division of Immigration Health Services,
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). He brings extensive
experience in TB control and border health issues to his new position,
having previously been a member of the TB in Immigrants Workgroup
of the Advisory Council for the Elimination of Tuberculosis and
a member of the Border Health Workgroup at HRSA. Abe is the author
of several infectious disease textbook chapters and journal articles.
Patrick Nadol, MPH, a CDC Public Health Prevention Specialist,
began a 6-month assignment in September with DTBE’s Research and
Evaluation Branch. He received his MPH degree from Tulane University's
School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. Patrick will be working
on the NAA study with Drs. Jerry Mazurek and Noreen Qualls.
Jason Nehal, MPH, previously assigned to the Chicago TB
program, has been selected for the senior public health advisor
(PHA) position in Honolulu, HI. He will be working closely with
Dr. Jessie Wing, DTBE medical officer and state TB Program Director,
and will provide management, supervision, and technical, epidemiologic,
and programmatic consultation to the TB control officer and staff,
among others. He began his assignment on July 28. Prior to his DTBE
assignment Jason worked for the Division of Sexually Transmitted
Diseases in both Ohio and Chicago, with his first assignment for
CDC beginning September 22, 1991. His first position with DTBE was
his assignment in 1999 to the Chicago, Illinois, TB control program.
His responsibilities there included grant writing, budget preparation,
and analysis of data from the TB Information Management System (TIMS)
to measure program outcomes against objectives. Jason attended Ohio
State University where he received his BA degree, majoring in Spanish.
He recently earned his MPH degree from Tulane University where he
had previously earned his Graduate Certificate in surveillance and
epidemiology.
Farah Parvez, MD, a board-certified pediatrician, has joined
the DTBE Field Services Branch (FSB). She entered the U.S. Public
Health Service Commissioned Corps and Epidemic Intelligence Service
(EIS) in 1998, and worked in the Hospital Infections Program. After
completing her EIS training, she entered the CDC Preventive Medicine
Residency program. During the first year of her residency, Farah
obtained her masters degree in public health in health policy and
management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
For the practicum year of her residency, she worked in the Bureau
of Community HealthWorks, in the New York City Department of Health
and Mental Hygiene (NYCDOHMH). Farah is currently a CDC assignee
at the NYCDOHMH working as the Medical Director of the Office of
Oversight of Correctional Health. Her responsibilities include oversight
of clinical and preventive services to inmates within the New York
City jail system; facilitating enhancement of a public health focus
into current clinical activities at Rikers Island and the Borough
Houses of Detention; facilitating increased correctional health-related
communication and coordination between key partners; and facilitating
incorporation and coordination of city, state, and federal public
health program priorities into current clinical and preventive services
provided to NYC jail inmates.
Cathy Rawls, MPH, has joined DTBE as an Association of
Schools of Public Health (ASPH) Behavioral Research Fellow in the
Communications and Education Branch. She began her fellowship on
September 12, and will be working on various behavioral science
research projects in CEB. Cathy graduated in May 2002 from the Health
Behavior and Health Education Program in the School of Public Health
at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she also
received a BA in sociology. Prior to entering graduate school, Cathy
served 2 years in the Americorps Volunteers in Service to America
(VISTA) program as a Family Literacy project coordinator and in
the Public Allies program as an HIV/AIDS health educator.
Halsey Rhodes, who was assigned as a public health advisor
(PHA) trainee in Edison, NJ, has been assigned with promotion since
June 2 to the state TB program in Trenton under the supervision
of the senior PHA, Ken Shilkret. Halsey provides technical advice
and assistance in the management of TB control activities to the
county health departments. In addition, he provides TB consultation
to NJ health care providers, health agencies, and community-based
organizations, and is the liaison to the state Division of AIDS
Prevention and Control. He also compiles and analyzes data regarding
TB activities in the state. Halsey's previous training was as a
Health Service Representative for the State of Florida, and as coordinator
for Preventive Medicine activities with the United States Coast
Guard.
Frank Romano, one of the Field Services Branch's public
health advisor (PHA) trainees assigned in Chicago, was selected
for the PHA position in Tallahassee, FL. Frank will be working with
senior PHA Heather Duncan on a number of programmatic and operational
activities. Frank began his career in public health in 1995 as a
Disease Intervention Specialist for the Louisiana TB control program
in New Orleans. In 1998, Frank was promoted to Regional TB Surveillance
Coordinator responsible for all surveillance and reporting activities
in New Orleans and the surrounding region. He started his new assignment
on July 14.
Lisa Rosenblum, MD, MPH, joined the Surveillance and Epidemiology
Branch in the Epidemiologic Studies Section (SEB/ESS) on July 19,
2002. Lisa completed her BA degree at Brown University in 1978;
her MD degree at SUNY Upstate Medical Center in 1984; an MPH degree
at Johns Hopkins in 1986; and a Preventive Medicine Residency at
Johns Hopkins in 1987. She joined the Epidemic Intelligence Service
(EIS) program in 1987 and worked at CDC for 13 years in the International
Health Program Office (IHPO), the Hepatitis Branch in the National
Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID), the Division of HIV/AIDS
in NCID, and the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH).
Lisa was involved in public health volunteer work overseas as a
youth, and also worked in underserved areas through CDC assignments.
Nong Shang, PhD, has joined DTBE in the Computer and Statistics
Branch, where he is working on the Biostatistics team. He received
his PhD degree from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1993.
Nong comes to DTBE from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where
he taught design of experiments, statistical computing, math modeling,
advanced applied regression analysis, and survey sampling methods.
As a research statistician he has collaborated with biologists,
physicians, and engineers in studies related to environmental, genetics,
and biologic tests. He will initially be assigned to the tasks of
further developing math models for TB transmission and providing
support to the TB Trials Consortium studies.
Ken Shilkret, senior public health advisor (PHA) in New
Jersey and a CDC employee since 1964, retired from CDC on November
2, 2002. After 2 years of active duty as a commissioned officer
with the U.S. Army at Ft. Hamilton, NY, Ken started with CDC as
a Program Representative with the Division of Social Hygiene, New
York City Department of Health, in January 1964. Between 1964 and
1968, Ken worked as a venereal disease (VD) investigator in the
reactor program, and coordinated professional and community educational
activities in two districts. He was also a recruiter for the CDC
VD program for one year. Ken transferred from the Division of VD
to the Division of TB in 1968 where he served as a CDC field assignee
in the Detroit-Wayne County Health Department (Assistant to the
TB Controller) and the Michigan Department of Public Health (Chief
of the TB Control Program) from 1969 until 1974, when he was transferred
to the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (NJDHSS).
While there he was promoted to the Chief of the Communicable Disease
Operations Program. His duties included evaluation of the TB programs
and grants; all of the immunization program; and communicable disease
education, including AIDS, from 1983 to 1985. In 1985 he became
Chief of the Field Program (TB Program). In 1991 Ken was named manager
of the TB Program, the job he holds as he retires. In this position,
Ken coordinated departmental activities in TB control and prevention,
covering every aspect of running a program including planning and
goal development, staffing, operations, fiscal management, and preparation
of federal TB cooperative agreement applications and periodic progress
reports. Ken worked as the project manager for CDC/NJDHSS research
projects, and he participated on several CDC planning committees
and focus groups. He coordinated the expansion of TB surveillance
data. Ken’s role was expanded to include serving as a mentor and
site supervisor for the 2001 cohort of DTBE PHAs. Ken was also a
member and recorder of the DTBE Field Staff Working Group; a member
of the Public Health Task Force with the NJDHSS; a speaker or coordinator
at TB conferences, meetings, and training sessions; and a faculty
member for training and education courses at the New Jersey Medical
School National TB Center at UMDNJ and CDC. Ken has co-authored
12 TB-related manuscripts. He has been a participating member of
many organizations including the American Lung Association of New
Jersey, the National Tuberculosis Controller's Association, the
New Jersey Public Health Association, the New Jersey Thoracic Society,
and the Watsonian Society. Ken’s awards over his career have been
numerous. He received the U.S. PHS Group Special Recognition Award
as part of the Combating MDR TB Team in August 1993; the New Jersey
Public Health Association Presidents Award in March 1994; and a
plaque from the New Jersey Corrections Health Management Team in
December 1997. Ken was presented with the "National Tuberculosis
Icon Award" at the National TB Controllers Workshop in Alexandria,
VA, on June 19. Lee Reichman, MD, Executive Director of the New
Jersey Medical School National Tuberculosis Center, made the presentation
on behalf of the Center "in recognition of Ken's outstanding
leadership and commitment to the elimination of tuberculosis in
the State of New Jersey." In September 2002, he was given a
recognition award from the New Jersey Health Officers Association.
Ken plans to shift into retirement gradually by continuing to work
in a health-related field for a few more years after he leaves CDC.
He will be greatly missed and we wish him the best in his new career
direction.
Vivian Siler joined the Field Services Branch as the Lead
Program Operations Assistant on September 9, 2002. She started her
career with CDC in 1993 working as a contractor with the Viral and
Rickettsial Diseases Branch in the National Center for Infectious
Diseases as a Call Management Operator. From 1995 to 1999, Vivian
worked with Analytical Sciences Incorporated and the National Prevention
Information Network as a Senior Information Specialist within the
NCHSTP Office of Communications providing support to the Information
Dissemination Section. In 1999, she became a full-time staff employee
with the Division of TB Elimination, Communications and Education
Branch, as a Program Operations Assistant.
LouElla Simonetti has been selected for the newly created
Management and Program Analyst position in Field Services Branch
(FSB). LouElla will play a key role in the upcoming TB cooperative
agreement process by working closely with the program consultants
to assist them with logistical, procedural, and administrative aspects
of the review process, in particular, and other grant-related activities
throughout the year. She has been given the lead on managing the
administrative aspects of our field staff personnel which includes
developing, tracking, updating, and implementing personnel actions
and maintaining the branch’s personnel files. She is developing
tracking systems to report on the status of FSB/FOS operations upon
request. Before accepting this position, LouElla was assigned to
NCHSTP, Prevention Support Office, Office of Director, as a Program
Assistant where she assisted with extramural funding, minority health,
and the Tuskegee Health Benefit Plan. Her experience here at CDC
includes previous positions with the Computer and Statistics Branch
(CSB), DTBE, and several detail assignments to the Procurement and
Grants Office (PGO) and with the Human Resources Management Office
(HRMO). LouElla reported to FSB on July 2.
Todd Wilson, MS, CHES, has joined the Surveillance and
Epidemiology Branch as an epidemiologist in the Surveillance Section.
Todd will assume most of the duties performed by Gloria Kelly, who
is retiring at the end of 2002. These responsibilities include producing
our annual surveillance report and responding to data requests,
and several other activities will be added in the areas of data
management, data analysis and dissemination, and the TIMS to NEDSS
transition. Todd just completed his fellowship in the Public Health
Prevention Service, a 3-year program which included 6-month rotations
at CDC in the Division of Adolescent and School Health and the Division
of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases, and a 2-year assignment to the
Las Cruces District Office of the New Mexico Department of Health.
His broad-based fellowship experience included epidemiologic training
and health education and promotion activities, which built on his
educational background in health promotion and work experience in
marketing. Todd has a BA in Journalism (1991) and an MS in Health
Promotion/Health and Sport Sciences (1999) from the University of
Oklahoma, and is also a Certified Health Education Specialist.
Kevin Winthrop, MD, has joined the division in the Field
Services Branch (FSB). Kevin, a native of Oregon, attended Yale
University, where he played varsity baseball and earned a BA in
evolutionary biology. Following graduation, he traveled through
Asia for 6 months before returning to Portland, Oregon. Kevin attended
medical school at Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, Oregon,
receiving his MD cum laude. He completed his internship at
Emanuel Hospital in Portland, and then completed one year of ophthalmology
residency at Stanford University before joining CDC as an Epidemic
Intelligence Service (EIS) Officer. While in the EIS, he was stationed
with the Disease Investigations Section of the California Department
of Health Services, where he had the opportunity to investigate
outbreaks in a diverse range of habitats — from nail salons to LASIK
eye centers to the site of the Winter Olympics. After finishing
EIS, he joined FSB/DTBE to assist the Tuberculosis Control Branch
of the California Department of Health Services. He and his wife
have a 2-year-old daughter and live in Berkeley, California. He
likes to play guitar, make wine, and forage for culinary mushrooms
in his spare time.
Charles Woodley, PhD, retired in May from the Tuberculosis/
Mycobacteriology Branch, National Center for Infectious Diseases
(NCID). His 34 years in the mycobacteriology laboratories at CDC
were highlighted by studies of the genetics of mycobacteria, work
on identification and drug susceptibility testing of Mycobacterium
tuberculosis and nontuberculous mycobacteria, and, most recently,
the DNA fingerprinting of M. tuberculosis. Dr. Woodley contributed
to the development and standardization of the IS6110 restriction
fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) method of fingerprinting M.
tuberculosis and played a key role in the application of this
method in response to the reemergence of tuberculosis and outbreaks
of multidrug-resistant disease in the early 1990s. He was also an
integral part of the National Tuberculosis Genotyping Surveillance
Network. His accomplishments are reflected in numerous publications
and in the many laboratorians who were trained over the years.
Misty Worley, MPH, who was an Association of Schools of
Public Health (ASPH) Fellow in health education and instructional
design, has completed a one-year fellowship in the Communications
and Education Branch (CEB) and moved back to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
While at DTBE, Misty’s contributions included revising the print-based
TB resource guide, assisting with the planning for the National
TB Controller's Association Meeting, developing the TB ETN marketing
brochure, and assisting in the production of the Mantoux skin test
video.
Zhen Zhao, PhD, has joined the division in the Computer
and Statistics Branch (CSB). Zhen holds a PhD degree in statistics
from the University of Georgia (1991) and has been a senior mathematical
statistician with the National Immunization Program since January
2000, where he worked on the National Immunization Survey. From
1994 through 2000 he worked as a contract biostatistician in diverse
programs at CDC and has coauthored more than 20 papers or presentations.
Zhen began working with DTBE on August 12 and will be initially
dedicated to supporting the TB Trials Consortium studies.
IN MEMORIAM
Laurence S. Farer, MD, a past director of DTBE, died October
11 at the age of 65 as a result of a brain hemorrhage. For 24 years,
he served as a U.S. Public Health Service Medical Officer, becoming
internationally renowned as an expert on TB and its control. He
served as Director, Division of TB Control, and Director, Division
of Quarantine at CDC. During his career, Dr. Farer received numerous
awards for exemplary service, including the Outstanding Service
Medal, the Foreign Duty Award, and the Smallpox Eradication Campaign
Service Award.
Born in The Bronx, New York, Dr. Farer graduated from Cornell University
with honors. He received his medical degree from New York University
and a masters degree in public health from Harvard University. Dr.
Farer was a Fellow at the National Institutes of Health. He was
widely published in professional journals, and was a longtime member
of the International Union Against TB and Lung Disease and of the
American Thoracic Society. Of his many career achievements, he was
most proud to have participated as a CDC medical officer in the
1977 World Health Organization campaign that successfully eradicated
smallpox worldwide.
Dr. Farer is remembered by colleagues for his extraordinary ability
to apply his vast knowledge of science and medicine, and for his
integrity, brilliant intellect, professionalism, sense of humor,
and administrative talent. He was a demanding yet inspiring and
compassionate mentor. In his work, he was able to formulate logical,
persuasive arguments that were always a strong force for good. After
retiring in 1988, he remained active by serving as a technical consultant
to CDC.
A consummate bird watcher, Dr. Farer attained a remarkable life
list of sighting almost 5000 birds. His global travels to observe
birds in their local habitats took him to Kenya, Bhutan, The Himalayas,
Madagascar, and the Amazon rain forest. He visited every continent
except Antarctica. Leading nature walks and birding trips, Dr. Farer
was a compelling raconteur who brought seemingly sleepy woodlands
and meadows to life. He was on the Board of Directors of the Audubon
Society in Asheville, NC. As a generous, caring philanthropist,
he benefitted conservation and humanitarian charities. His brother,
Dr. James W. Farer, a loving extended family, and a worldwide network
of friends survive him.
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