SPADA

Frank F. Roberto, PhD, SM (NRCM) Directorate Fellow, Energy and Environment Idaho National Laboratory

SPADA BRUCELLA WORKING GROUP CHAIR

Frank Roberto received his BS and PhD in biochemistry from the University of California, Davis, and University of California, Riverside. After a postdoctoral fellowship in molecular plant pathology at UC Davis, he moved to the US Dept. of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory, where he has conducted and directed R&D programs ranging from biomining with acidophilic bacteria and archaea to rapid detection of priority bacterial pathogens such as Brucella. For nearly ten years he worked closely with wildlife biologists studying interspecies transmission of brucellosis to develop field-deployable DNA assays to address bison and elk management issues in the Greater Yellowstone Area. He is a Specialist Microbiologist in biological safety (National Registry of Certified Microbiologists) and has held the Certified Biological Safety Professional (CBSP)certification (American Biological Safety Association).

Shashi Sharma, Ph.D. SPADA Botulinum neurotoxin A Chair

Dr. Sharma received Ph.D. in Microbiology from University of Bhopal, Bhopal India. After Ph.D., he joined Lupin Biotechnology as a Scientist where he worked on development monoclonal antibodies and immunodiagnostics of HIV, Typhoid and Syphilis. He did posdoc from Department of Biochemistry, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where he worked on the structure and function of Clostridium botulinum neurotoxin and its associated proteins. Dr. Sharma joined FDA/ CFSAN, in May 2002. His research focuses on the development and validation of an effective and sensitive detection system for Clostridium botulinum in foods. He has over 22 years of experience in C. botulinum research and published several research papers in peer reviewed journals and holds an US patent on C. botulinum toxin associated proteins.