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CAPT Hugh M. Mainzer |
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Meet the New Chief Professional Officer for the Veterinary Category |
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CAPT Hugh M. Mainzer has been selected by Acting Surgeon General Kenneth P. Moritsugu
as the Chief Professional Officer for the Veterinary category of the Commissioned
Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service (Corps) effective 1 May 2007. As Chief Veterinary
Officer, CAPT Mainzer is responsible for providing leadership and coordination of
veterinary professional affairs for the Office of the Surgeon General and the Department
of Health and Human Services (HHS). He also provides guidance and advice to the
Surgeon General and the Veterinary Professional Advisory Committee on matters such
as recruitment, retention, career development, and readiness of Corps veterinarians.
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CAPT Mainzer is a Supervisory Preventive Medicine Officer and Epidemiologist in
the Division of Emergency and Environmental Health Services at the National Center
for Environmental Health, a component of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC). He has recently been designated by HHS as Commander of a deployable Applied
Public Health Team designed to augment and assist with the provision of essential
public health services to communities impacted by natural disaster, act of terror,
or public health emergency. With background training and certification as a human
Emergency Medical technician/paramedic and HAZMAT Technician, CAPT Mainzer is a
strong advocate for the application of initiatives and activities designed to integrate
veterinary proficiencies with the practices of all public health professionals.
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CAPT Mainzer received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brandeis University and a Master
of Science degree in Veterinary Public Health from Texas A&M University. His
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree was earned from Tufts University in 1990. During
veterinary school, he was commissioned a Corps Ensign and served three separate
short tours in the Commissioned Officer Student Training and Extern Program assigned
to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Following graduation from veterinary
school, he received his call to active duty as a Lieutenant in the Corps and worked
as a veterinary clinician for 2 years at the NIH Animal Center in Poolesville, MD.
Accepted in CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) in 1992, CAPT Mainzer worked
for several years in the Pennsylvania Department of Health as a “Disease Detective”
participating in numerous communicable disease outbreak investigations and environmental
hazard evaluations.
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Following the EIS program, CAPT Mainzer moved to a senior staff position at CDC’s
National Immunization Program, where for almost 7 years he assisted with investigations
of vaccine preventable disease outbreaks in humans and worked with health care providers
in several regions of the United States to improve immunization service delivery
to the Nation’s infant, child, and adolescent population. During that time, CAPT
Mainzer completed a short assignment as the temporary State Epidemiologist for Wyoming.
CAPT Mainzer also served as a World Health Organization study group member on the
panel which published a 2002 technical report on future trends on veterinary public
health.
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In December of 2001, CAPT Mainzer joined CDC’s National Center for Environmental
Health in his current role. He also serves as a team leader and assists CDC Emergency
Response coordinators during natural disaster responses as well as intentional acts
of chemical, radiation, or biologic terror. He has responded and served as a preventive
medicine technical advisor, resource coordinator, liaison team lead, and Public
Health and Medical Services field office leader following five major hurricanes
-- the most recent being Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. He assisted with the
delivery of environmental health and emergency medical services during the 1996
and 2002 Olympic Games, has assisted the investigation of several cruise ship outbreaks,
several large outbreaks of waterborne pathogens as well evaluation of community
exposure to mold conditions in homes following heavy floods. CAPT Mainzer served
as a CDC Environmental and Occupational health team leader as part of the Federal
Government’s response activities following the September 2001 attacks as well as
the intentional anthrax release in the United States. CAPT Mainzer has co-authored
over 20 scientific articles on topics ranging from animal welfare and reports of
communicable disease outbreak responses, to investigations of environmental hazards
and evaluations of vaccine delivery programs.
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CAPT Mainzer is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine
and served for 4 years on the specialty’s examination committee. He is also a Fellow
of the American College of Epidemiology. Since 2001, CAPT Mainzer has served on
the advisory panel of the American Veterinary Medical Association’s House of Delegates
and has completed 6 years of service as a Director of the Commissioned Officers
Association of the U.S. Public Health Service (COA) including 1 year as Chair of
its Board of Directors. He is also past president of the American Association of
Public Health Veterinarians. CAPT Mainzer has supervised/mentored several EIS officers
during his tenure at CDC, is a member of CDC’s Preventive Medicine Residency Advisory
Committee, is adjunct clinical instructor in the Department of Community Medicine
and Family Health at the Tufts University School of Medicine, and Clinical Assistant
Professor in the Department of Environmental and Population Health at the Cummings
School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. CAPT Mainzer has active licenses
to
practice veterinary medicine in four states.
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CAPT Mainzer’s memberships in professional organizations include the American Veterinary
Medical Association, American Public Health Association, and life memberships in
COA, the Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S., and Reserve Officers Association.
He has served two terms on the Veterinary Professional Advisory Committee, including
1 year as chairperson, and has been a Corps associate recruiter.
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CAPT Mainzer is a Regular Corps
officer and has received numerous awards, including
2 Secretary of Health and Human Services Awards for Distinguished Service, a U.S.
Vice Presidential National Performance Review (“Hammer”) award, and the following
Public Health Service (PHS) awards: Achievement Medal; 6 Outstanding Unit Citations;
3 PHS Citation medals; 11 Unit Commendations; 5 Crisis Response Service Awards;
Special Assignment Service Award; National Emergency Preparedness Award; and Field
Medical Readiness Badge. He is a recipient of the CDC National Immunization Program
and National Center for Environmental Health Center Director’s Awards, and received
an award in 1997 for outstanding volunteer service to the Atlanta Humane Society.
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