Newswise — Bethesda, Md -- Navy Captain (Dr.) Mark S. Riddle, an expert in tropical medicine and public health, was selected to lead the Department of Preventive Medicine and Biostatistics at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences’ (USU) F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine – ‘America’s Medical School’. Riddle will begin his new duties in May and succeeds Dr. Boris Lushniak in the position. Lushniak is now dean of the University of Maryland School of Public Health.

As chair of Preventive Medicine and Biostatistics, Riddle will lead one of the largest departments within the Hebert School of Medicine, with more than 60 full-time faculty members supporting 10 programs and divisions responsible for enhancing health through medical education, research, and service that support and improve programs of preventive medicine, community health, and health promotion in the uniformed services. He will oversee medical student education programs in preventive medicine and public health, occupational and environmental health, health administration and policy, global health and social and behavioral sciences, and eight accredited graduate degree programs in various aspects of public health. Additionally, Riddle will oversee accredited residency programs in two preventive medicine specialty areas and specialized training programs in tropical medicine in conjunction with the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, as well as a robust research program that includes the Infectious Disease Clinical Research Program.

Riddle received dual Bachelor of Science degrees from the University of California at Davis in 1992 and his Doctor of Medicine degree and Master of Public Health and Tropical Medicine from Tulane University in 1997. He completed a residency in general preventive medicine and earned a Doctor of Public Health degree at USU. Among his military assignments, Riddle served as Surgeon of the 2nd Battalion, 11th Marines (Artillery) in Camp Pendleton, California and deployed on the Maritime Preposition Force vessel USN 2ND LT John P. Bobo (T-AK 3008) in the eastern Mediterranean. He also served at the U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit No. 3 in Cairo, Egypt, where he engaged in multiple operational surveillance and clinical trial efforts in the region, including a six-week mission in support of the US Embassy in Angola in response to the 2005 Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever virus outbreak. His current assignment is at the Naval Medical Research Center in Silver Spring, Md., where he is director of the Department of Defense Bacterial Diarrhea Vaccine Research Program.

Riddle has maintained a very active role in supporting students and trainees from the USU and National Capital Region through didactic teaching engagements, resident precepting and mentoring of over 30 post-graduate students in their projects and practicums over the past 10+ years.

“Captain Riddle is an internationally-regarded researcher, educator and practitioner of Preventive Medicine. He will not only be an exceptional leader, he’ll be an outstanding role model for our uniformed and civilian graduate students,” said Dr. Arthur Kellerman, dean of the Hebert School of Medicine.

"I am very excited to return to the Department of Preventive Medicine and Biostatistics, where I owe much of my success to the learning, leadership and collaborations that I have drawn from my experiences over the past decade and a half in my affiliation with the USU,” said Riddle. “I am humbled to know I am joining such a dedicated and diverse department with an important mission to support the warfighter and families, and I am sincerely grateful to dean, the selection committee and others who have entrusted me with this honor to serve."

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About the Uniformed Services University of the Health SciencesThe Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, founded by an act of Congress in 1972, is the nation’s federal health sciences university and the academic heart of the Military Health System. USU students are primarily active duty uniformed officers in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Public Health Service who receive specialized education in tropical and infectious diseases, TBI and PTSD, disasterresponse and humanitarian assistance, global health, and acute trauma care. A large percentage of the university’s more than 5,500 physician and 1,000 advanced practice nursing alumni are supporting operations around the world, offering their leadership and expertise. USU also has graduate programs in biomedical sciences and public health committed to excellence in research, and in oral biology. TheUniversity’s research program covers a wide range of clinical and other topics important to both the military and public health. For more information about USU and its programs, visit www.usuhs.edu