Captain Hugh M. Mainzer, U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps
Chief Veterinary Officer
During high school and undergraduate years, Hugh Mainzer worked for a small animal practitioner in Stamford, CT, while also training as an emergency medical technician. His veterinary supervisor introduced him to the neighboring town’s health director, a retired Commissioned Corps flag officer and veterinarian, who firmly believed that veterinarians could help professionalize emergency health services. This encounter introduced CAPT Mainzer to the Commissioned Corps as a future career option, but it also fueled a lifelong interest—the relationship between animal and human health. Fascinated by the relationship, he continued to simultaneously develop his skills in animal care and emergency medical care for humans throughout graduate training in public health, during veterinary school, and while assigned to the National Institutes of Health as part of the Commissioned Officer Student Training and Extern Program.
The opportunity to link veterinary practice with human health protection and improvement attracted CAPT Mainzer to the Corps, but his family history offered a more personal reason to serve. CAPT Mainzer’s father and grandparents were fortunate enough to emigrate from Nazi-controlled Germany to the United States in 1939. He observes, “Their experiences and our family’s gratitude to America instilled in me the value of service to this country. For me, there is no greater honor than to be able to practice what I love, while helping others in this country and the world and while serving in the uniform of the United States.”
Currently, 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 recently was designated as a commander of an Applied Public Health Team, an interdisciplinary group of Corps officers who can be deployed within days to assist communities affected by natural disaster, act of terror, or public health emergencies. Many of his Corps experiences have prepared him for these responsibilities. CAPT Mainzer deployed in a variety of roles with increasing levels of responsibility following five major hurricanes since 1992, the most recent being hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and helped manage CDC environmental health responses following the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the intentional release of anthrax in the United States. He also participated in numerous disease investigations ranging from diarrheal diseases outbreaks among cruise ship passengers to a large 1996 community measles outbreak in the southwestern United States. For several years, CAPT Mainzer worked for the Pennsylvania Department of Health as an assigned epidemic intelligence service officer. As a CDC-trained “disease detective,” he investigated a range of infectious disease outbreaks, non-communicable disease problems, and potential environmental hazards. As he notes, “My Corps career has given me an opportunity to take these lessons and develop better ways to prevent disease and to make a difference in public health that will last. That will be my greatest challenge and achievement.”
In May 2007, Acting Surgeon General Kenneth P. Moritsugu selected CAPT Mainzer as chief veterinary officer. In this role, CAPT Mainzer provides professional leadership and coordination for the Office of the Surgeon General and the Department of Health and Human Services. He also advises the Surgeon General and the Veterinary Professional Advisory Committee on matters such as recruitment, retention, career development, and readiness of Corps veterinarians.
CAPT Mainzer sees unlimited public health opportunities for veterinarians in the Corps. “In the Corps, few traditional veterinary jobs may be available, but our foundational skills and experience in clinical and surgical practice prepare us to take on extraordinary public health challenges in many non-traditional roles,” he states. I d on’t know of any other career that allows you to be a public health professional, care for a multitude of species, and serve your country with pride and distinction.”
If you are a veterinary student or veterinarian interested in the Commissioned Corps, take the next step! E-mail us your questions, call us at 800-279-1605, or apply online now.