“For almost two decades, Dr. Emery has been a leader in the field of biosafety at UTHealth, improving public health, creating a culture of safety on campus and greatly advancing our knowledge of emergency preparedness, disaster response, laboratory safety and so much more. Importantly he has, and continues, to do so with a spirit of collegiality, good judgment and transparency - traits that he exemplifies personally and professionally,” said George Stancel, Ph.D., senior vice president for Academic and Research Affairs at UTHealth.

Emery earned his bachelor’s degree in environmental sciences from University of North Carolina at Wilmington in 1979 and his master’s in public health from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1989. In 1991, he earned a master’s in environmental health from East Carolina University.

Upon earning his Doctor of Public Health degree from UTHealth School of Public Health in 1997, he joined the school’s faculty as an assistant professor of occupational health. He has served as vice president for Safety, Health, Environment & Risk Management since 2004.

“It gives me great pleasure to present Dr. Robert Emery the John H. Richardson Special Recognition Award for his contributions to biosafety. Bob has been a long term, active member of ABSA International,” said Melissa A. Morland, president of ABSA International. “He regularly provides professional development courses as part of the annual ABSA International Conference and has contributed research articles to the ABSA International journal, Applied Biosafety. In addition, he is an ambassador for the field of biosafety throughout other professional societies, healthcare, and academia. This award signifies ABSA’s appreciation for Bob’s many contributions to biosafety.”

Emery received the John H. Richardson Special Recognition Award during the ABSA Conference in Grapevine, Texas on Oct. 5.

ABSA was founded in 1984 to promote biosafety as a scientific discipline and serve the growing needs of biosafety professionals throughout the world. Its goals are to provide a professional association that represents the interests and needs of practitioners of biological safety, and to provide a forum for the continued and timely exchange of biosafety information. For more information, visit www.absa.org.