Patrick Stockton, a former biosafety manager and biosafety officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, has been named biosafety officer and director of the Office of Biosafety at UGA.
“Patrick Stockton brings experience with the highest level of biosafety research from a premier institution to UGA,” said Christopher King, assistant vice president for research and director of research compliance, to whom Stockton will report. “In cooperation with the UGA Institutional Biosafety Committee, he will provide the leadership and support for this important area of research.”
“We are very pleased that Patrick Stockton has accepted our offer to lead UGA’s biosafety programs,” said David Lee, vice president for research. “UGA is dedicated to assuring a safe and productive research environment and protecting the health of the UGA and Athens community, and the environment. With UGA’s recent growth in infectious disease research that addresses critical threats to health, including the development of vaccines, safety and compliance with all regulatory requirements are the highest priority.”
Stockton’s appointment is effective March 1. He will succeed Manley Kiser, associate director for the biosafety office, who has served as interim biosafety officer and director of the biosafety office since May 2012.
Stockton will lead and manage a comprehensive biological safety program that ensures compliance with applicable regulations, guidelines, policies and directives, including those issued by the National Institutes of Health, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the CDC. He will oversee development of emergency plans for handling accidental spills and personnel contamination. His additional duties include serving as a member of the Institutional Biosafety Committee, which reviews and approves research projects involving human, animal or plant pathogens.
