Jeffrey W. Runge, MD, FACEP

Dr. Runge has decades of clinical, research, leadership and administrative experience. In addition to seven years as the head of two government agencies with as many as 1000 employees and contractors under his direction, he brings nearly 30 years of experience as an emergency medicine physician. Until 2001 he practiced and taught in North Carolina’s busiest emergency department and trauma center, while performing research in injury prevention, trauma care, and emergency service delivery.

His leadership and innovation in road traffic safety brought him to Washington to accept the president’s nomination to head NHTSA, being confirmed by the Senate in August 2001. At NHTSA, he instituted programs that led to the first absolute declines in U.S. motor vehicle deaths in nearly a decade and the lowest highway fatality rate in history. His emphasis on safety belt use using the innovative “Click It or Ticket” program led to national belt use of 82%, saving over 3000 lives a year. Dr. Runge’s focus on rollover crashes using the 5-star rating program and crash avoidance technology led to an industry-wide redesign of SUVs to improve their safety as family vehicles. His expertise in road safety and emergency medical service delivery remains highly valued by government and the private sector.

With government administrative experience and rich experience in EMS and trauma management, Dr. Runge was a natural fit to become the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) first Chief Medical Officer, where he led the reorganization of biodefense operations into a new Office of Health Affairs (OHA). He was again confirmed by the Senate in December 2007 as the DHS’ first ever Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs, where he served until his departure in August 2008. To execute the mission of DHS-OHA, Dr. Runge and his team worked across traditional boundaries in government and the private sector to bring together various stakeholders in biodefense and medical preparedness to improve the security of the homeland.

Dr. Runge is a 1977 graduate of the University of the South, Sewanee, TN, and received his medical degree from the Medical University of South Carolina in 1981. He has been honored by both institutions in recent years as a Distinguished Alumnus. Dr. Runge is board certified in Emergency Medicine and has published over 60 articles in the medical literature in the fields of emergency medicine, traffic injury control and medical preparedness. He has testified 25 times in Congress and various state legislatures on highway safety and homeland security issues. His consulting company, Biologue, Inc, assists the private sector on issues of biodefense, medical preparedness, and highway safety.

Keynote Speakers

Col. Randall Larsen (Ret. USAF), Former Executive Director of the Congressional Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism

Robert Hooks, Deputy Assistant Secretary for WMD and Biodefense, Office of Health Affairs

Guest Speakers

Penny J. Hitchcock, D.V.M., M.S., Chief Scientist, Chemical and Biological Early Detection (BioWatch), Systems Program Office, Tauri Group

Tina Gabbrielli, Director of the Office of Risk Management and Analysis, U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Peter Jutro, Deputy Director for Science and Policy, National Homeland Security Research Center, EPA

Daniel Marc Sosin, MD, MPH, FACP, Acting Director, Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, CDC

Pietro D. Marghella, Former Director of Medical Contingency Operations, Office of the Secretary of Defense

Joanne Cox, Deputy Chief, Emergency Risk Communication Branch, CDC

Dr. Brian Flynn, Former Assistant Surgeon General, US Public Health Service

Gerald W. Parker, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Dave Gruber, Deputy Commissioner of Health (Preparedness and Response), State of New Jersey

Michael J. Fischer, Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Maryland Department of Transportation

John H. Bridges III, Former Incident Commander for Anthrax Response and Mitigation, US Postal Service, 2001 to 2004

Glen D. Gilmore, Responded to anthrax attack as Former Mayor of Hamilton Township, New Jersey

Gary Cecchine, Ph.D., Biology/Public Policy, Natural Scientist, RAND

Jeff Robertson, Former Assistant Commissioner for Public Affairs, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

Dr. William J. Parker III, Biodefense and Critical Infrastructure Expert

Thomas R. Austin, Ph.D., Manager CBRNE Countermeasures Programs, The Boeing Company

C. Randal Mullett, Vice President, Government Relations and Public Affairs for Con-way Inc.

Michael Luke, Command Agreements Manager, Mortuary Affairs Officer, Logistics Planning,NORAD-USNORTHCOM

Margaret Jo Velardo, PhD, Director of Research, Homeland Security Institute

Dr. David McWhorter, Principal, Catalyst Partners, LLC

Jennifer Nuzzo, Associate, UPMC Center for Bio-Security

Arthur L. Kellermann, MD, MPH, Senior Principal Researcher, Paul O'Neill-Alcoa Chair in Policy Analysis, RAND Corporation

Dr. Thomas K. Zink, MD, Adjunct Associate Professor, Institute for Biosecurity, Saint Louis University

Dr. Joseph Tricarico, Jr., Esq., Assistant Commissioner, New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services

Richard Cooper, Chairman, Homeland Security Division, National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA)

Anthony S. Mangeri, MPA, CPM, Assistant Professor School of Public Safety & Health American Military University

M. Allen Northrup, Ph.D., Founder and CEO, Microfluidic Systems

Tim Tinker, MPH, DrPH, Senior Associate, Booz Allen Hamilton

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Marketing and Production by:

In Partnership With:

BioDefense Conference content is co-owned by Neak Media and CPMI