Meet Some of Our NBBTP Fellowship Alumni
The mission of the NBBTP is to prepare biosafety and biocontainment professionals of the highest caliber to meet the needs of the biomedical, emerging disease and civilian biodefense research communities through the 21st century.

Each December, a select number of NBBTP Fellows, trained specifically to support high containment research environments begin work as biosafety professionals with the knowledge and skills necessary to meet the scientific, regulatory, biocontainment, biosafety, engineering, communications, management, and public relations challenges associated with the conduct of research in these facilities.

NBBTP Fellowship Class of 2010

Rebecca Lingenfelter
Ms. Lingenfelter now works for the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine, an independent, non-profit organization focusing on mammalian genetics research to advance human health. Their mission is to “discover the genetic basis for preventing, treating and curing human disease and to enable research for the global biomedical community.” Ms. Lingenfelter obtained her Bachelor of Science in genetics from Texas A&M University in 2000 and a Master in Science in Public Health in 2002 from the School of Rural Public Health at the Texas A&M Health Science Center. As part of her master’s research, she studied the ability of several microbial assays to estimate the genotoxicity of three model polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).  Ms. Lingenfelter continued studying PAHs for her dissertation work in the toxicology program at Texas A&M, which involved studying human environmental exposures to PAHs.  In addition to research responsibilities, she worked as a teaching assistant for an undergraduate class in food toxicology and food safety and assisted with instruction in a graduate lab in an environmental sampling methods class. 

Vivian Smith
Ms. Smith now works as a Regulatory/Environmental Health and Safety Specialist at the J. Craig Venter Institute in Rockville, MD, a leader in genomic research with offices in Maryland and San Diego, California. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Alcorn State University. Prior to her acceptance into the NBBTP, Ms. Smith was a mentor in the HBCU-UP program at Alcorn State University where she conducted laboratory safety lectures to educate students to the possible dangers of working with dangerous chemicals and the importance of laboratory safety. She also worked as an assistant researcher at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, where she focused on mapping candidate genes involved with tomato fruit cuticle biosynthesis. 

Molly Stitt-Fischer, Ph.D., CPH
Dr. Fischer now serves as a Biosafety Officer for the University of Pittsburgh where she advises the University community on policy and programs necessary to assure the control of biological agents that will ultimately protect faculty, staff, students, the University and the environment.  As part of her responsibilities, she serves as an active member of the Institutional Biosafety/rDNA committee, Biohazards Committee, and Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee; and provides consultation on biological agents, potentially infectious material, recombinant DNA and other potential hazards in the academic and research environment. Dr. Stitt-Fischer received her Ph.D. from the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health in the Graduate School of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh in April 2008.  She also has a Master of Science in Molecular Toxicology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (February 2002) and a Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology from Allegheny College (May 1999). While pursuing her Ph.D., her research focused on exploring the connections between zinc homeostasis and nitric oxide signaling in the pulmonary endothelium.  Prior to that, she worked as a research technician at the University of Pittsburgh examining zinc homeostasis in pulmonary endothelial cells.

NBBTP Fellowship Class of 2009 

Alexis (Them) Brubaker, (SM),NRCM, MSFS
Ms. Brubaker now serves as Training Manager for the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratory (NEIDL) at the Boston University Medical Center in Massachusetts. Prior to her appointment to the NBBTP, Ms. Brubaker served the West Virginia State Public Health System for more than two years as the Bioterrorism Response Coordinator for the Office of Laboratory Services. Alexis received her Master of Science in Forensic Science (MSFS) in 2005 from Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia and her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania in 2002.

Marcus Gomez Hodges, Ph.D.
Dr. Hodges, who currently works for Battelle National Biodefense Institute as a Biosafety and Biosecurity Specialist for the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC), received his Bachelor of Science degree in 2000 from Saint Augustine’s College in Raleigh, NC, and his doctoral degree in biology from Howard University in Washington, DC. As a graduate student, he conducted research on infectious organisms such as Trypanosoma musculi and Plasmodium falciparum. Prior to his acceptance into the NBBTP, Marcus worked as a volunteer research scientist for the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, MD, and as a NIAID postdoctoral fellow for the Laboratory of Allergic Diseases.

Megan Morgan
Currently working as an Associate Biosafety Officer for the National Institutes of Health in Hamilton, MT, Ms. Morgan earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Clinical Laboratory Science and a certificate in Molecular Diagnostic Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a Certified Medical Technologist and Clinical Laboratory Specialist in molecular biology. Her previous experience includes supporting the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in the Defense Sciences Office for research involving animal and human subjects. She also gained science policy experience at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Center for Science, Technology and Security Policy, with a focus in biosecurity.

Hao A. Vu
Mr. Vu now serves as a Biosafety Specialist at the Biosecurity Research Institute at Kansas State University. He was the Director of Preclinical Development at AFG Biosolutions, Inc in Gaithersburg, MD. He received his M.S. degree in Biodefense from George Mason University and his undergraduate degree in Zoology at Brigham Young University where he was involved in the development of a mouse model for early onset osteoarthritis.

NBBTP Fellowship Class of 2008

Sherry S. Bohn
Sherry S. Bohn now serves as a Biosafety & Biosecurity Specialist at NBACC following her completion of the NBBTP.  She began her doctoral studies in Cellular and Microbial Biology at The Catholic University of America in 1999. She also served as a teaching assistant for a variety of classes including microbiology, cell biology and genetics, and was involved in scientific education outreach programs such as The Gene Search Summer Program at The Catholic University of America and the Paul Jr. High Public Charter School Saturday Academy through FAES/NIH. Her undergraduate work at Marywood University in Scranton, PA, resulted in dual degrees in Biology and Communication Arts, and before heading to graduate school she served as an Assistant Environmental Manager for The Geon Company in Pedricktown, NJ.

John Tonkiss, Ph.D., (SM),NRCM, CBSP
Upon completing his NBBTP Fellowship, Dr. Tonkiss began work as the Associate Director, High-Containment Safety for the National Emerging Infectious Disease Laboratories (NEIDL) at the Boston University Medical Center in Massachusetts. Dr. Tonkiss holds a Doctorate of Medicine in Child Health/Developmental Psychobiology from Manchester University (U.K.) and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences, with first class honors from Manchester Polytechnic (now called Manchester Metropolitan University). After post-doctoral training at the University of Manchester, the University of Minnesota and Oxford University, Dr. Tonkiss obtained a faculty position at BUMC, becoming Associate Professor of Psychiatry in 1994. At BUMC, Dr. Tonkiss has acted as 1) Associate Director of the Center for Behavioral Development and Mental Retardation, 2) scientific member of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) and 3) Protocol Compliance Reviewer tasked with reviewing all active animal use protocols involving USDA covered species.

NBBTP Fellowship Class of 2007

CDR Thomas Arminio, USPHS, CBSP
CDR Arminio earned a Masters of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University, an RN degree from the College of St. Catherine, and a Bachelors of Arts in Biology from Vassar College. Before joining the NBBTP, CDR Arminio was assigned to the Indian Health Service, Office of Environmental Health and Engineering, at the Santa Fe Indian Hospital where he held the position of Safety and Infection Control Manager. Areas of interest in biosafety include applying clinical nursing skills to occupational health and emergency medical management in high containment environments, syndromic surveillance of biological threats and policy development in biosurety issues, with emphasis in internal settings.

CDR Arminio is currently a Biosafety Manager at Rocky Mountain Laboratories, NIH’s state-of-the-art biomedical research facility in Montana. The new Integrated Research Facility (IRF) is the first facility of its kind to house BSL-2, -3 and -4 laboratory space along with offices and conference space, and enables researchers to study priority pathogens in the area of biodefense in the safest and most secure environment possible.

Angela Ragan, CBSP  
Ms. Ragan, MS, SM (NRCM), CBSP, Biosafety Manager for the NIH NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) at Fort Detrick, successfully completed the NBBTP Fellowship in December 2007. She is currently providing safety oversight and writing standard operating procedures/emergency procedures for the IRF BSL-2 and BSL-4 containment laboratories. She has more than 12 years of professional experience in the Occupational Safety and Health field at multi-faceted working environments (private consulting, government contracting, and at a higher education institution). She obtained a Bachelor of Science in environmental science and a minor in geology from Slippery Rock University and in 2011 earned a Master of Science in biotechnology with a concentration in biodefense from Johns Hopkins University.

After initial training in industrial hygiene and occupational safety, Ms. Ragan became the Biological Safety Officer/Industrial Hygienist at the Catholic University of America before entering the National Biosafety and Biocontainment Training Program (NBBTP) Fellowship at the NIH. During the Fellowship, she obtained the designation of Certified Biosafety Professional (CBSP) and Specialist Microbiologist (SM) by the National Registry of Certified Microbiologists.