CDC Announces new director of Division of Select Agents and Toxins

CDC announces today the selection of Samuel S. Edwin, Ph.D., to become the new director of the agency’s Division of Select Agents and Toxins (DSAT).

Dr. Edwin comes to CDC after serving as the responsible official and biological surety officer at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) at Fort Detrick, MD.  He has been associated with biomedical research for more than 30 years.

Dr. Edwin is expected to begin his new assignment in September 2016.  Dr. Dan Sosin, who has been acting as the division’s director since November 2015, will return to his position as deputy director and chief medical officer of CDC’s Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response.

DSAT oversees two regulatory programs – the Federal Select Agent Program and the Import Permit Program – to ensure that laboratory work with infectious biological agents is conducted as safely and securely as possible.

While potentially dangerous, work with select agents and toxins provides important scientific discoveries that have led to improved detection, prevention, diagnostic, and treatment options for diseases considered to be some of the most threatening to public health and agriculture. Research in this area saves lives, protects American agriculture, and helps protect the safety and security of the American people.

For more information about CDC’s Division of Select Agents and Toxins, visit http://www.cdc.gov/phpr/dsat.htm.

###
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES