AOAC SPADA February 2015 Meeting Book

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.