News Release

CDC Lab Chief Receives Award In Clinical Microbiology

Grant and Award Announcement

American Society for Microbiology

WASHINGTON, D.C. -April 10, 1998-- Richard R. Facklam, Chief, Laboratory Section, Childhood and Vaccine Preventable Disease Branch, Division of Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases, Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has been awarded the 1998 Becton Dickinson and Company Award in clinical microbiology. This award, which honors a distinguished microbiologist identified with clinical microbiology, will be presented at the General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology, May 17-21, 1998 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Dr. Facklam received his Ph.D. in microbiology from Florida State University and then began his 30 year career at the CDC. His major interest is the development of tests designed to categorize and identify the streptococci. He has developed identification schemes based on tests to identify the beta-hemolytic streptococci and the viridans streptococci.

Another interest of Dr. Facklam's is the changing antimicrobial susceptibility of Streptococcus pneumoniae and the development and distribution of pneumococcal vaccines. He has assisted in the testing of S. pneumoniae strains collected during the population based studies for antimicrobial susceptibility.

In addition, he has worked on the development of procedures and manuals for the control of respiratory diseases in children of developing countries. He has also assisted in the studies of determining antimicrobial resistance in Egypt, Kenya, Khazakstan and Pakistan by either direct visits or college consultations. Currently, Dr. Facklam is working on a manual designed to train physicians and scientists in developing countries on the isolation and identification of the bacteria that cause bacterial meningitis.

Dr. Facklam's has coauthored 100 publications, 30 reports, and the chapters on enterococci and streptococci for the past four editions of the Manual of Clinical Microbiology. He was nominated by Bernard W. Beall, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia.

The American Society for Microbiology, headquartered in Washington, D.C., is the oldest and largest single biological membership organization, with over 40,000 members worldwide.

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