Boston University Names Experts to Positions at National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories
Boston University
For Immediate Release: September 13, 2007
Contact: Kira Jastive, 617-358-1240, kjastive@bu.eduDavid Goldberg, 617-638-8491, david.goldberg@bmc.org
(Boston) – Boston University today announced the appointment of Thomas W. Geisbert, Ph.D., as associate director of the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL) currently under construction on the university’s medical campus. He will also serve as director of the NEIDL’s Specimen Processing Core Laboratory. Dr. Geisbert, who helped develop vaccines against the Ebola and Marburg viruses, will also join the faculty of the Boston University School of Medicine as professor of microbiology.
In addition, the university announced that Joan Geisbert has been appointed associate director of the Specimen Processing Core Laboratory and associate director of the NEIDL Training Simulator. Together, the Geisberts bring to Boston University over 50 combined years of research and administrative experience in biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) and biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory environments.
Dr. Geisbert will join BU on October 1, 2007 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) where he is currently associate director for high containment and the high containment coordinator of the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) BSL-4 laboratory. Prior to his work at the NIAID, Dr. Geisbert was a research microbiologist at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) where he specialized in studying the Ebola and Marburg viruses. While at the USAMRIID, Dr. Geisbert also held appointments as chief of electron microscopy and chief of viral pathology and ultrastructure.
In June 2005, Dr. Geisbert and scientists from the Public Health Agency of Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory published a study in the journal Nature Medicine that investigated effective vaccines for both the Ebola and Marburg viruses.
“We are delighted that Dr. Geisbert will be joining the faculty of Boston University in the Department of Microbiology and the NEIDL. Tom has been on the forefront of research to understand how several hemorrhagic fever viruses cause disease,” said Mark Klempner, M.D. director of the NEIDL Institute and associate provost for research of Boston University’s Medical Campus. “That knowledge is the basis for his recent contributions to developing treatments and vaccines for these serious infectious diseases.”
As associate director of the NEIDL, Dr. Geisbert will participate in all of the major leadership decisions pertaining to the Institute, including faculty and staff recruitment, allocation of space and resources, policy development and scientific direction for various laboratory programs. As director of the Specimen Processing Core Laboratory, he will oversee the lab’s hub for analysis of specimens emanating from various research projects.
“Tom has more than 19 years experience working in this specialized research laboratory setting. We look forward to his leadership role in Boston University’s burgeoning infectious diseases research efforts,” Klempner added.
Dr. Geisbert holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Pathobiology from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD. He obtained a B.S. in Biology from Western Maryland College, Westminster, MD, and an M.S. in Biology from Hood College, Frederick, MD.
As associate director of the Specimen Processing Core Laboratory, Joan Geisbert will help develop policies and standard operating procedures and recruit and train the Core Laboratory personnel. As associate director of the Training Simulator, Ms. Geisbert will develop a training and certification program to prepare NEIDL faculty and staff to work in BSL-4 labs and core facilities. Ms. Geisbert will also participate in various research projects and laboratory experiments.
Ms. Geisbert, whose appointment at the NEIDL begins February 1, 2008, is currently a senior biological science laboratory technician at the USAMRIID where she is the suite supervisor for a BSL-3/BSL-4 lab. In addition, she serves as a mentor to train and orient new lab personnel to BSL-3/BSL-4 operations. She has been a lab technician at the USAMRIID since the start of her career in 1974 and has more than 26 years experience specifically in BSL-4 laboratories and more than 32 years of combined experience in BSL-3 and BSL-4 laboratories.
“When you ask anyone familiar with biosafety level 4 research laboratories who is the nation’s most experienced, hands-on expert, they will refer you to Joan Geisbert. It is no wonder that with her experience in high-containment labs that she has participated in some of the most important infectious diseases research projects requiring biosafety level 4 and trained many of the research faculty around the country who work in this specialized environment,” said Dr. Klempner. “We are very fortunate that Joan has chosen to bring her vast experience and talent to Boston University and the NEIDL.”
The NEIDL is part of a national network of secure facilities that study infectious diseases —whether they occur naturally or are introduced through bioterrorism. The mission of the NEIDL is to establish a research facility with the highest attention to community and laboratory safety and security to perform cutting-edge research and develop diagnostic tests, treatments and vaccines to promote public health through combating infectious diseases.
Founded in 1839, Boston University is an internationally recognized institution of higher education and research. With more than 30,000 students, it is the fourth largest independent university in the United States. Boston University contains 17 colleges and schools along with a number of multi-disciplinary centers and institutes which are central to the school’s research and teaching mission.