Research Specialist, OWU Alumna Look at 'Biological Warfare' for SNC Talk

October 25, 2002

DELAWARE, OHIO -- Dr. Nancy Connell, Director of the Center for BioDefense at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ) and Associate Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at the UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, will speak Wednesday, Oct. 30, at 7:30 p.m. as part of Ohio Wesleyan's Sagan National Colloquium. The lecture, "Biological Warfare: Weapons and Threats," will be held in the Benes Room of the Hamilton-Williams Campus Center. Joined by Research Associate and OWU alumna Jessica Mann, Connell will explore the current realities and dangers of biological warfare.

Connell directs several research initiatives centered on developing new therapies and detection methodologies for a variety of biological agents. Her current lab in the department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics uses a combined approach of bacterial genetics and cell biology to study the interaction of Mycobacterium tuberculosis with its host cell, the macrophage.

Connell has worked for many years in the control of the proliferation of biological weapons. She serves on the Federation of American Scientists Working Group on Biological and Toxic Weapons Verification, has testified in Congress and served as a consultant to the Henry L. Stimson Center's Chemical and Biological Weapons Nonproliferation Project. As research associate at the UMDNJ Center for Biodefense, Mann assists in the design and implementation of the biodefense related projects and management of the New Jersey Medical School bio-safety facility. Mann also serves on the Institutional Biosafety Committee and the New Jersey Pathogen Transport Workgroup.

The Sagan National Colloquium is in its 17th year at Ohio Wesleyan. All lectures are free and open to the public. More information is available at http://snc.owu.edu or 740-368-3995.