CHAIR BIOS: WORKING GROUP CHAIRS
Eileen N. Ostlund, DVM, MS, PhD
Head, Equine and Ovine Viruses Section, Diagnostic Virology Laboratory
National Veterinary Services Laboratories, STAS, VS, APHIS, USDA APHIS
SPADA VENEZUALAN EQUINE ENCEPHALITIS (VEE) WORKING GROUP CHAIR
Eileen N. Ostlund received her DVM (1980) and MS (1982) from the University of Illinois and
then spent 5 years in private veterinary practice with an equine focus. Subsequently, she
completed a PhD in Veterinary Science from the University of Kentucky (1992) and conducted
postdoctoral research in infectious diseases at the Animal Health Trust, Newmarket, England
and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health,
Bethesda, MD. She then served on the faculty at the University of Missouri, College of
Veterinary Medicine, Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. In 1998, Dr. Ostlund joined
USDA/APHIS/VS as the Head of the Equine and Ovine Viruses Section in the Diagnostic Virology
Laboratory, National Veterinary Services Laboratories, Ames, Iowa. Dr. Ostlund served as the
USDA co-chair of the Intragovernmental Select Agent and Toxin Technical Advisory Committee
(ISATTAC) from 2005 through 2013. She has been named a designated expert for the World
Organization for Animal Health, Office International des Epizooties (OIE), for eastern, western,
and Venezuelan encephalomyelitis, West Nile Fever, equine infectious anemia, and bluetongue.
James Samuel, PhD
Professor and Chair of Microbial Pathogenesis and Immunology
Texas A&M University
SPADA Q-FEVER WORKING GROUP CHAIR
Professor and Chair at the Department of Microbial Pathogenesis and Immunology, Texas A&M
Health Science Center College of Medicine. His research is primarily focused on the human
respiratory pathogen,
Coxiella burnetii
, the agent of Q fever, with basic studies on mechanisms
of pathogenesis and applied goals of novel vaccine and diagnostic development. Dr. Samuel
has taught courses in genetics, microbiology and microbial pathogenesis for both medical and
graduate education.
