CHAIR BIOS: WORKING GROUP CHAIRS
Sandra M. Tallent, PhD
Center for Food Safety and Nutrition
United States Food and Drug Administration
SPADA STAPHYLOCOCCAL ENTEROTIXIN TYPE-B (SEB) WORKING GROUP CHAIR
Sandra McKenzie Tallent received her Bachelor of Science from Florida Southern College,
Lakeland Florida and, upon graduation, attended Orlando Regional Medical Center’s School of
Medical Technology. The challenges of antimicrobial resistance prompted her to alter her
career focus from clinical microbiology to public health research. She earned her Master’s and
Doctorate in Microbiology and Immunology from Virginia Commonwealth University in
Richmond, Virginia followed by a CDC Emerging Infectious Disease Research Fellow
appointment with Virginia’s Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services. She has been with
the U.S. FDA for seven years where her work involves assay development to detect
Staphylococcus aureus
and
Bacillus cereus
and their enterotoxins in food matrices.
