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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, September 22, 2015
CONTACT: Joan Adam, (605) 773-3361
Health Department Names New Public Health Laboratory Director
PIERRE, S.D. – Timothy Southern, Ph.D., has joined the South Dakota Department of Health as director of the public health laboratory.
“Dr. Southern is a great addition to our team,” said Kim Malsam-Rysdon, Secretary of Health. “Even before he was officially on board, he provided invaluable expertise and guidance as we developed Ebola testing capabilities at our laboratory. We look forward to continued laboratory enhancements under his leadership.”
Southern recently completed a clinical microbiology fellowship at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and the Nebraska Public Health Laboratory. He was involved in the center’s response to the Ebola outbreak and participated in a study of Ebola diagnostics with Emory University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that was published in a recent issue of the Journal of Clinical Microbiology.
Southern holds a doctorate in biomedical sciences from East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee. Prior to his UNMC fellowship, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institutes of Health Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, Montana.
He has authored numerous professional articles and presented at meetings of the American Society of Microbiology and the Association of Public Health Laboratories. During his tenure at UNMC he was also a lecturer for the College of Pharmacy and the Medical Residency Training Program and an instructor for the Medical Microbiology Student Laboratory.
South Dakota’s state public health laboratory provides medical microbiology, environmental health and forensic chemistry testing as well as specialized testing for low-incidence, high-risk diseases and emerging pathogens. The laboratory is a member of the Laboratory Response Network, the Environmental Laboratory Response Network and is an EPA drinking water certified laboratory.
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