Veterinary Category of the U.S. Public Health Service CPO

CAPT Hugh M. Mainzer

Meet the New Chief Professional Officer for the Veterinary Category

CAPT Hugh M. Mainzer has been selected by Acting Surgeon General Kenneth P. Moritsugu as the Chief Professional Officer for the Veterinary category of the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service (Corps) effective 1 May 2007. As Chief Veterinary Officer, CAPT Mainzer is responsible for providing leadership and coordination of veterinary professional affairs for the Office of the Surgeon General and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). He also provides guidance and advice to the Surgeon General and the Veterinary Professional Advisory Committee on matters such as recruitment, retention, career development, and readiness of Corps veterinarians.  
 
CAPT Mainzer is a Supervisory Preventive Medicine Officer and Epidemiologist in the Division of Emergency and Environmental Health Services at the National Center for Environmental Health, a component of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). He has recently been designated by HHS as Commander of a deployable Applied Public Health Team designed to augment and assist with the provision of essential public health services to communities impacted by natural disaster, act of terror, or public health emergency. With background training and certification as a human Emergency Medical technician/paramedic and HAZMAT Technician, CAPT Mainzer is a strong advocate for the application of initiatives and activities designed to integrate veterinary proficiencies with the practices of all public health professionals. 
 
CAPT Mainzer received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brandeis University and a Master of Science degree in Veterinary Public Health from Texas A&M University. His Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree was earned from Tufts University in 1990. During veterinary school, he was commissioned a Corps Ensign and served three separate short tours in the Commissioned Officer Student Training and Extern Program assigned to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Following graduation from veterinary school, he received his call to active duty as a Lieutenant in the Corps and worked as a veterinary clinician for 2 years at the NIH Animal Center in Poolesville, MD. Accepted in CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) in 1992, CAPT Mainzer worked for several years in the Pennsylvania Department of Health as a “Disease Detective” participating in numerous communicable disease outbreak investigations and environmental hazard evaluations. 
 
Following the EIS program, CAPT Mainzer moved to a senior staff position at CDC’s National Immunization Program, where for almost 7 years he assisted with investigations of vaccine preventable disease outbreaks in humans and worked with health care providers in several regions of the United States to improve immunization service delivery to the Nation’s infant, child, and adolescent population. During that time, CAPT Mainzer completed a short assignment as the temporary State Epidemiologist for Wyoming. CAPT Mainzer also served as a World Health Organization study group member on the panel which published a 2002 technical report on future trends on veterinary public health. 
 
In December of 2001, CAPT Mainzer joined CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health in his current role. He also serves as a team leader and assists CDC Emergency Response coordinators during natural disaster responses as well as intentional acts of chemical, radiation, or biologic terror. He has responded and served as a preventive medicine technical advisor, resource coordinator, liaison team lead, and Public Health and Medical Services field office leader following five major hurricanes -- the most recent being Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. He assisted with the delivery of environmental health and emergency medical services during the 1996 and 2002 Olympic Games, has assisted the investigation of several cruise ship outbreaks, several large outbreaks of waterborne pathogens as well evaluation of community exposure to mold conditions in homes following heavy floods. CAPT Mainzer served as a CDC Environmental and Occupational health team leader as part of the Federal Government’s response activities following the September 2001 attacks as well as the intentional anthrax release in the United States. CAPT Mainzer has co-authored over 20 scientific articles on topics ranging from animal welfare and reports of communicable disease outbreak responses, to investigations of environmental hazards and evaluations of vaccine delivery programs. 
 
CAPT Mainzer is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine and served for 4 years on the specialty’s examination committee. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Epidemiology. Since 2001, CAPT Mainzer has served on the advisory panel of the American Veterinary Medical Association’s House of Delegates and has completed 6 years of service as a Director of the Commissioned Officers Association of the U.S. Public Health Service (COA) including 1 year as Chair of its Board of Directors. He is also past president of the American Association of Public Health Veterinarians. CAPT Mainzer has supervised/mentored several EIS officers during his tenure at CDC, is a member of CDC’s Preventive Medicine Residency Advisory Committee, is adjunct clinical instructor in the Department of Community Medicine and Family Health at the Tufts University School of Medicine, and Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental and Population Health at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. CAPT Mainzer has active licenses to practice veterinary medicine in four states. 
 
CAPT Mainzer’s memberships in professional organizations include the American Veterinary Medical Association, American Public Health Association, and life memberships in COA, the Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S., and Reserve Officers Association. He has served two terms on the Veterinary Professional Advisory Committee, including 1 year as chairperson, and has been a Corps associate recruiter. 
 
CAPT Mainzer is a Regular Corps officer and has received numerous awards, including 2 Secretary of Health and Human Services Awards for Distinguished Service, a U.S. Vice Presidential National Performance Review (“Hammer”) award, and the following Public Health Service (PHS) awards: Achievement Medal; 6 Outstanding Unit Citations; 3 PHS Citation medals; 11 Unit Commendations; 5 Crisis Response Service Awards; Special Assignment Service Award; National Emergency Preparedness Award; and Field Medical Readiness Badge. He is a recipient of the CDC National Immunization Program and National Center for Environmental Health Center Director’s Awards, and received an award in 1997 for outstanding volunteer service to the Atlanta Humane Society.