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Paul Jackson (continued)
For the past 24 years he has been studying bacterial pathogens, first working to develop DNA-based
methods of detecting these microbes and their remnants in environmental and laboratory samples, then
developing methods to differentiate among different strains of the same pathogenic species. Research
interests include the study of different methods of interrogating biological samples for detection and
characterization of content, and development of bioforensic tools that provide detailed information
about biothreat isolates including full interrogation of samples for strain content and other genetic
traits. Methods he and collaborators developed have been applied to forensic analysis of samples and
aid in identifying the source of disease outbreaks. He contributed to analysis of the
Bacillus anthracis
present in the 2001 Amerithrax letters and conducted detailed analyses of human tissue samples
preserved from the 1979 Sverdlovsk anthrax outbreak, providing evidence that was inconsistent with
Soviet government claims of a natural anthrax outbreak. His current interests continue to focus on
development of assays that rapidly detect specific signatures including antibiotic resistance in threat
agents and other pathogens. More recent activities include identification and characterization of new
antimicrobial compounds that are based on the pathogens' own genes and the products they encode.
These include development of such materials as therapeutic antimicrobials, their application to
remediate high value contaminated sites and materials, and their use to destroy large cultures and
preparations of different bacterial threat agents. Efforts to address issues of antibiotic resistance and
treatment of resistant organisms have recently been expanded to look at non-threat agent pathogens
that cause problematic nosocomial or community-acquired infections of particular interest to the
military.
Paul spent 24 years as a Technical Staff Member at Los Alamos National Laboratory where he was
heavily involved in development of the biological threat reduction efforts there. He was appointed a
Laboratory Fellow at Los Alamos – a lifetime appointment - in recognition of his efforts. He moved to
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 2005 where he was a Senior Scientist in the Global Security
and Physical and Life Sciences Directorates until his retirement in 2013. In addition to his work at the
National Laboratories, he has served on the FBI's Scientific Working Group for Microbial Forensics, on
NIH study sections and review panels, and continues to serve on steering and oversight committees for
other federal agencies.