As I sat down to lunch with Charles Schable, the previous Director of the Coordinating Office of Terrorism Preparedness and Emergency Response at the Center for Disease Control, or CDC, I was prepared to hear some interesting stories.  I was not disappointed.

Schable graduated from Arizona State University with a B.S. (1967) and M.S. (1976) in Microbiology, a major that prepared him to work with viruses and other infectious diseases.  In the '80's, he jumped at the opportunity to work in research laboratories investigating the AIDS/ HIV virus and other blood borne pathogens -- fields that were just beginning to uncover the mysteries of these diseases. Schable later left research and began working toward becoming a Director. While in this position, he provided policy formation, program planning and development, program management and operations and budget formulation for all terrorism preparedness and emergency response issues for the CDC.  He handled many public health issues that directly impacted the public.

Schable presented one of the first documented terrorism cases in which a person grew salmonella and spread it in local buffet salad bars.  Since the strike was deliberate and intended for political reasons, it was considered a terrorist attack. Although Schable dealt with many cases similar to this, he was not limited to dealing with the repercussions of terrorist attacks.  He also handled contaminated food outbreaks such as those seen most recently with salmonella allegedly in tomatoes and jalapenos.  He noted that some situations were beyond the purview of the CDC, but nevertheless could impact public health. For example, if a virus destroyed all the wheat crops in America, the public would be indirectly affected through increased food prices and possible starvation in certain populations.

Throughout this informal talk, Schable made clear the fact that there will always be a need for workers in public health willing to toil with dangerous diseases and handle stressful, and sometimes life-threatening situations.  He ensured, however, that the career was rewarding.  Currently, Schable is a technical expert at the UA College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, providing technical support for the development of regional biosafety and biosecurity facilities.  He also sits on the University's Institutional Biosafety Committee and assists the University's Biosafety Officer to ensure biological safety compliance.

Contact Information:  Institutional Biosafety Committee, University of Arizona, 1230 N Park Ave, #205, Tucson, AZ 85721, 520-626-7733, cschable@email.arizona.edu

Dawne O'Brien, URBPer with Dr. Matthew Cordes, Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics