SPHIS Administration Center for Health Hazards Preparedness Role: Faculty Title: Co-Director Office No: Houchens Building, Room 105 Address: Belknap Campus Phone: 502/852-3957 E-mail: r.atlas@louisville.edu

Background

Ronald M. Atlas is Graduate Dean, Professor of Biology, and Co-director of the Center for the Deterrence of Biowarfare and Bioterrorism at the University of Louisville. He is Past President of the American Society for Microbiology and has served as Co-chair of the ASM Task Force on Biological Weapons. He has his BS degree from the State University at Stony Brook and his MS and PhD degrees from Rutgers University. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory where he worked on Mars Life Detection. He is a member of NASA's Planetary Protection Board and the FBI Scientific Working Group on Bioforensics. He has previously served on the NIH Recombinant Advisory committee. His early research focused on oil spills and he discovered bioremediation as part of his doctoral studies. Later he turned to the molecular detection of pathogens in the environment which forms the basis for biosensors to detect biothreat agents. He is author of nearly 300 manuscripts and 20 books. He is a fellow in the American Academy of Microbiology and has received the ASM Award for Applied and Environmental Microbiology, the ASM Founders Award, and the Edmund Youde Lectureship Award in Hong Kong. He regularly advises the US government on policy issues related to the deterrence of bioterrorism.

Current Projects

NASA Planetary Protection Board (2001-present)
Board of Directors Council of Graduate Schools (2003-present)

Past President ASM (2003-2004)

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Honors and Awards

Johnson and Johnson Fellowship for Biology, 1971
Resident Research Associate National Research Council, 1972

Sigma Xi

American Men and Women of Science

National lecturer Sigma Xi 1982 1984

American Society for Microbiology Lecturer 1984 1985

Honorary Member Golden Key

University of Louisville Research Excellence Award 1985

ASM Applied and Environmental Microbiology Award 1991

University of Louisville Distinguished Service Award 1998

ASM Founders Distinguished Service Award 2000

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Publications

Books
(5 publication(s) displayed.)
"Many faces: Many microbes"
Atlas, R.M. (ed.). Washington, DC; ASM Press
Publication Date: 2000

"Manual of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology"
Demain, A., J. E. Davies, R. M. Atlas, G. Cohen, C. L Hershberger, W-S Hu, D. H Sherman, R. C. Wilson, and J.H. David Wu (eds.). 2nd Washington, DC; ASM Press
Publication Date: 1999

"The Handbook of Microbiological Media for Environmental Microbiology"
Atlas, R.M. and J.W. Snyder. Boca Raton; CRC Press
Publication Date: 1995

"Laboratory Manual of Experimental Microbiology"
Atlas, R.M., L. Parks, and A. Brown. St. Louis; Mosby
Publication Date: 1995

"Principles of Microbiology"
Atlas, RM. St. Louis; Mosby
Publication Date: 1995

Book Chapters
(2 publication(s) displayed.)
"Biological threats and terrorism"
"National Security and Openness of Scientific Research"
Atlas, R.M.. S.L. Knobler, A.A.F. Mahmoud, and L.A. Pray; Washington, DC: Institute of Medicine, National Academy Press;
Publication Date: 2002

"Bioremediation"
"Manual of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology"
Atlas, R. and R. Untermann. A. Demain, J. E. Davies, R. M. Atlas, G. Cohen, C. L Hershberger, W-S Hu, D. H Sherman, R. C. Wilson, and J.H. David Wu; Washington, DC: ASM Press;
Publication Date: 1999

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Journal Articles
(19 publication(s) displayed.)
"Implications of restrictions on foreign students and scientists for infectious disease research."
Atlas, R.M.. NAS report: Forum on Emerging Infections; ():
Publication Date:

"National security and the clinical laboratory community."
Atlas, R.M.. Medical Laboratory Observer; ():
Publication Date:

"The evolution of group-beneficial traits in the absence of between-group selection"
Dugatkin LA,Perlin M,Atlas R. Journal of Theoretical Biology; 220(1): 67-74
Publication Date: 2003 Jan 7

"Statement on scientific publication and security.[comment]"
Atlas R,Campbell P,Cozzarelli NR,Curfman G,Enquist L,Fink G,Flanagin A,Fletcher J,George E,Hammes G,Heyman D,Inglesby T,Kaplan S,Kennedy D,Krug J,Levinson R,Marcus E,Metzger H,Morse SS,O'Brien A,Onderdonk A,Poste G,Renault B,Rich R,Rosengard A,Salzburg S,. Science; 299(5610): 1149
Publication Date: 2003 Feb 21

"Statement on the consideration of biodefence and biosecurity.[comment]"
Atlas R,Campbell P,Cozzarelli NR,Curfman G,Enquist L,Fink G,Flanagin A,Fletcher J,George E,Hammes G,Heyman D,Inglesby T,Kaplan S,Kennedy D,Krug J,Levinson R,Marcus E,Metzger H,Morse SS,O'Brien A,Onderdonk A,Poste G,Renault B,Rich R,Rosengard A,Salzberg S,. Nature; 421(6925): 771
Publication Date: 2003 Feb 20

"Uncensored exchange of scientific results"
Atlas R,Campbell P,Cozzarelli NR,Curfman G,Enquist L,Fink G,Flanagin A,Fletcher J,George E,Hammes G,Heyman D,Inglesby T,Kaplan S,Kennedy D,Krug J,Levinson RE,Marcus E,Metzger H,Morse SS,O'Brien A,Onderdonk A,Poste G,Renault B,Rich R,Rosengard A,Salzburg S. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America; 100(4): 1464
Publication Date: 2003 Feb 18

"Bioterroism and biodefense research: Changing the focus of microbiology."
Atlas, R.M.. Nature Reviews; 1(1): 70-74
Publication Date: 2003

"Commentary on implications of the 1971 outbreak in Aralsk, Kazakhstan, for U.S. Smallpox Vaccination Policy (No. 1)"
Atlas RMC. Critical Reviews in Microbiology; 29(2): 159-161
Publication Date: 2003

"Science publishing in the age of bioterrorism"
Atlas, R.M.. Academe; 89(5): 14-18
Publication Date: 2003

"Public health. National security and the biological research community"
Atlas RM. Science; 298(5594): 753-754
Publication Date: 2002 Oct 25

"Responding to the threat of bioterrorism: a microbial ecology perspective--the case of anthrax. [Review] [28 refs]"
Atlas RM. International Microbiology; 5(4): 161-167
Publication Date: 2002 Dec

"Responding to the threat of bioterrorism: A microbial ecology perspective - the case of anthrax"
Atlas, R.M.. Int Microbiol; 5(4): 161-167
Publication Date: 2002

"Combating bioterrorism and the potential misuse of biotechnology"
Atlas, R.M.. Applied Biosafety; 7(4): 200-206
Publication Date: 2002

"Bioterrorism: From threat to reality"
Atlas, R.M.. Annual Review of Microbiology; 56(): 167-185
Publication Date: 2002

"Bioterriorism: from threat to reality. [Review] [57 refs]"
Atlas RM. Annual Review of Microbiology; 56(): 167-185
Publication Date: 2002

"Fourth year medical students are effective case discussion leaders"
Streips, U.N., and R.M. Atlas. Basic Science Educator; 10(): 23-26
Publication Date: 2001

"An overview of the genome of Nostoc punctiforme, a multicellular, symbiotic cyanobacterium"
Meeks, J.C., J. Elhai, T. Thiel, M. Potts, F. Larimer, J. Lamerdin, P. Predki, and R. Atlas. Photosynthesis Research; 70(): 85-106
Publication Date: 2001

"Bioterrorism before and after September 11"
Atlas RM. Critical Reviews in Microbiology; 27(4): 355-379
Publication Date: 2001

"Ecology and industrial microbiology: Biotechnology's expanding horizons"
Atlas R.M. and J. Brenchley. Current Opinion in Microbiology; 2(): 233-235
Publication Date: 1999

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