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Captain Martin Sanders Appointed USPHS Chief Scientist

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Dec 19, 2016 - 11:33:32 PM



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(HealthNewsDigest.com) - Captain Martin Sanders has been appointed Chief Scientist Officer of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (USPHS). Sanders was appointed by the Surgeon General of the United States and is now in charge of the professional development of over 300 commissioned scientists within the USPHS. In addition, Sanders now directly supports the Surgeon General in United States health care policy development.

The appointment of Sanders to role of Chief Scientist comes after an exemplary career that has spanned over 13 years within the U.S. Army, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institute of Health.

Sanders began his career in science by studying Zoology at the University of California, Davis. He then proceeded to complete a PhD in infectious diseases from the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health. Shortly after receiving his PhD, Martin worked for the U.S. Armys Biological Threat Assessment Detachment as well as for Battelle as as microbiologist. In 2002, Sanders began work at the National Institute of Health as the Chief of the Community Health Branch. Just over three years later he climbed the ranks to become Deputy Director of the Office of Health and Safety of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which led to over a year as Acting Director. While Deputy Director, Sanders was appointed to a steering group of four individuals responsible for the production of the Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL) 5th edition: one of the CDCs most reputable publications. Captain Sanders was also the recipient of the 2007 Derek Dunn Memorial Science Officer of the Year award.

At present, Sanders maintains various other roles including Director of the Safety, Environmental Compliance, and Emergency Management. This role has required Sanders to direct a portfolio of services aimed at departmental sustainability policy, environmental policy, fleet and asset management, and emergency response. In addition to this, Sanders has been a Commissioned Officer in the US Public Health Service since 2002.

Captain Sanders appointment as Chief Scientist Officer of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (USPHS) is undoubtedly a result of years of dedicated service to health services in the United States. The variety of roles held by Captain Sanders throughout his career is a testament to the diversity of his skills.

Captain Martin Sanders Describes BMBL Revision Process

Captain Martin Sanders has outlined the revision process for the 5th Edition of Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL) within the Anthology of Biosafety. Captain Martin Sanders was part of the BMBLs four person steering group; he has extensive knowledge of the revision processes that were used when determining the scope that the BMBLs 5th edition was taking.

Sanders explains that the four person steering committee, of which he is a member, was chosen from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institute of Health (NIH). This steering group was responsible for overseeing the entire project. The began by selecting a project manager with whom it began deciding the approach that the BMBL would be taking for its 5th edition. The committee wanted to engage with potential new topics within the biosafety community while still ensuring the original mission of the BMBL was upheld.

Sanders also describes a multi-stage review process that ensured that all information was consistent and correct. Firstly, work would be produced and reviewed by various coordinating editors, these editors would then pass the work on to the project coordinator who in turn would review the documents and submit them to an executive committee for final approval. The team was very aware of the weight that their editorial decisions had on the biosafety community; even a small change to the document could effect methodologies and research for years to come.

The BMBL is a cornerstone biosafety publication that advises laboratories within the United States how to better maintain proper procedure and safety within the work place. While the BMBL is not a regulatory body, and therefore not strictly enforceable, it is used by the majority of labs within the United States as the primary resource for biosafety and biosecurity information.

The Anthology of Biosafety was curated by Jonathan Y. Richmond, Ph.D in 2007. The anthology seeks to compile a range of sources of information within the biosafety community. It does so with the aim of ensuring the safety of both lab workers and the public. It overviews various available biosafety publications, as well as the processes behind their development. The anthology allows scientists to have a concise and comprehensive list of the range of biosafety resources available for them.

Antibodies Present within Patients of Tick Bites, Says Martin Sanders

A study presented within an article co-written by Captain Martin Sanders for the American Journal of Epidemiology has found correlations between confirmed tick bites and antibodies within the patient. The findings are extremely significant given the lack of information on biological of arthropod exposure within the vector borne disease field. The article, titled Antibody Levels to Recombinant Tick Calreticulin Increase in Humans after Exposure to Ixodes scapularis (say) and Are Correlated with Tick Engorgement Indices, explores the presence of antibodies within the systems of patients with confirmed tick bites. These antibody levels are contrasted with those of a non-bite control group in order to determine whether tick bites alone allow create biological markers in response.

The publication is a potentially relieving finding considering the scientific community’s previous lack of effectiveness in determining whether a patient had been bitten by a tick. Empirical evidence suggests that self-reporting of tick bites is extremely inaccurate and unreliable. Despite this, self-reporting has long been widely accepted as the primary detection method within the medical community. The study notes that there is in fact another biological marker that has been used to determine the probability that someone has been bitten by a tick: ATSA. But, this study examines the effectiveness of Anti-rTC detection in determining tick bite probability. It finds a correlation between Anti-rTC levels and confirmed tick bites, it also determines that these levels are clearly detectable after just one bite. This correlation provides evidence that Anti-rTC levels could potentially be a viable biological marker for tick bites and remove the problem-ridden methods of the past.

Captain Martin Sanders obtained his PhD from the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases at the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health. He went on to join the U.S. Army and work for the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and the Department of Health and Human Services. He was the recipient of the 2007 Derek Dunn Memorial Senior Scientist Officer of the Year award.

Antibody Levels to Recombinant Tick Calreticulin Increase in Humans after Exposure to Ixodes scapularis (say) and Are Correlated with Tick Engorgement Indices was originally published in the American Journal of Epidemiology in 1999 (no.8, vol. 4). The journal has been published by The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health since 1920.

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