BALTIMORE, June 11, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — PathSensors is pleased to announce the addition of Dr. Hodge as a member of their Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Hodge is currently an Affiliate member of the Pathogen and Microbiome Institute (PMI), at the Northern Arizona University (NAU) in Flagstaff, Arizona. Prior to joining the Scientific Advisory Board, he was employed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the Science and Technology Directorate, Chemical-Biological Defense Division, Research and Development Branch, as the Senior Program Manager for Basic Research and Assay Development. Before he held this role, Dr. Hodge worked in the Threat Characterization and Attribution Branch as a Program Manager for Chemical and Biological Forensics. He also served as the Laboratory and Quality Assurance Manager for the National Bio-Forensic Analysis Center (NBFAC), National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC) at Fort Detrick, Maryland.

An expert in Chemical and Biological Threats, Dr. Hodge was invaluable in commissioning and overseeing a third-party evaluation of the ability of PathSensors’ CANARY technology to detect for Bacillus anthracis and Ricin toxin threats at DHS. “Our evaluation of CANARY technology included hundreds of inclusivity and exclusivity materials for the two agents in addition to many commonly encountered ‘hoax’ powders and substances encountered by security and law enforcement personnel,” said Dr. Hodge. “Resulting data on the levels of sensitivity of detection and the speed at which these pathogens were found was extremely promising for CANARY as a biodefense tool.”    

Preceding his time at DHS, Dr. Hodge performed research at the National Institutes of Health for 17 years in the fields of Virology and Inflammation Signal Transduction. He is an author or co-author of over one hundred publications and peer reviewed research articles and posters and still serves as an associate editor and reviewer for several scientific journals. He was an adjunct professor in the Johns Hopkins University Graduate Program for Biotechnology and Biodefense for ten years where he taught courses in Cell Biology, Medical Microbiology and Chemical-Biological Defense.

Dr. Hodge is a graduate of the University of Maryland (B.S. Microbiology/Biochemistry, cum laude) and received his Doctor of Philosophy (Virology/Molecular Biology) from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Prior to entering the scientific research and development field, he worked as a police officer for ten years in the Baltimore, Maryland (USA) area.

“PathSensors is honored to be working closely with Dr. Hodge, an expert in bioterrorism defense,” commented PathSensors president, Ted Olsen. “We look forward to his guidance and counsel when it comes to solving critical problems facing the biodefense industry.”

SOURCE PathSensors