September 2015 SPADA Meeting

CHAIR BIOS:  WORKING GROUP CHAIRS

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. 

Sandra M. Tallent, PhD  Center for Food Safety and Nutrition, United States Food and Drug Administration  SPADA VENEZUALAN EQUINE ENCEPHALITIS (VEE) 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. 

David Wagner, PhD  Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences  Associate Director, Center for Microbial Genetics and Genomics  Northern Arizona University SPADA F. TULARENSIS WORKING GROUP CO‐CHAIR 

Dave Wagner has been working with dangerous pathogens, including Bacillus anthracis , Yersinia pestis ,  Francisella tularensis , and Burkholderia pseudomallei , in field and laboratory settings since 1999. He is  the Associate Director of the Center for Microbial Genetics and Genomics at NAU, which employs more  than 60 faculty, staff, and students. Dr. Wagner has established research collaborations around the  world, including  F. tularensis  research in Europe and Asia and Y. pestis  research in Africa, Asia, Europe,  and South America, among many others. His is broadly interested in the evolutionary history,  phylogeography, and ecology of infectious disease agents.