Newswise — Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) graduate Dr. Thomas W. Geisbert was selected Sept. 13 to serve as associate director of Boston University's new Biosafety Level-4 laboratory.
Dr. Geisbert was chosen for the position following a year-long nationwide search. As associate director he will oversee work using many of the world's most dangerous pathogens, including plague, anthrax, and the Ebola and Marburg viruses.
Dr. Geisbert is a graduate of USU's Doctor of Philosophy degree program in molecular pathobiology. He was employed at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases from 1985 until February 2007. He last position at USAMRIID was as chief of the Department of Viral Pathology and Ultrastructure, where he and several colleagues developed a potential vaccine for the Ebola and Marburg viruses. In February of this year, Dr. Geisbert worked at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), where he was the Associate Director for High Containment and High Containment Coordinator for the NIAID BSL-4 lab currently under construction at Fort Detrick. "We are extraordinarily proud of Dr. Geisbert for his contributions to critical areas of biomedical research and are confident in his ability to lead the new program at BU," said Larry W. Laughlin, M.D., Ph.D., dean of USU's F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine. "Among the unique factors of a USU education is the real world understanding of infectious disease and other biohazards that face our world today. On behalf of the university and its School of Medicine, I compliment BU on its selection of Dr. Tom Geisbert and offer him our best wishes."
The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences is located on the grounds of the National Naval Medical Center and across from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. USU is the nation's federal school of medicine and graduate school of nursing. The university provides military and public health relevant education, research, service and consultation to the nation and the world, pursuing excellence and innovation during times of peace and war.
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