Dr. A. Christian Whelen has been the Administrator for the State Laboratories Division since 2006, and oversees its operations. He received his B.S. degree in Microbiology from South Dakota State University in 1981 and his Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of North Dakota in 1985. He served on active duty in the U.S. Army directing stateside and overseas microbiology labs at military medical centers, research institutes, and as the Executive Officer to the Army Chief Scientist. He completed a clinical microbiology fellowship at Mayo Clinic in 1994, is board certified in Clinical and Public Health Microbiology by the American Board of Medical Microbiology, and holds a Hawaii Clinical Laboratory Director License. His academic appointments have included Adjunct Associate Professor of Pathology at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Assistant Professor of Laboratory Science at Mayo Medical School, and Adjunct Associate Professor of Public Health & Medical Technology at The University of Hawaii – Manoa John A. Burns School of Medicine. He has numerous professional affiliations including the American Society for Microbiology, Sigma Xi, the Order of Military Medical Merit, and is a Past President of the Society of Armed Forces Medical Laboratory Scientists. He has 1 patent and has authored 11 book chapters, 20 publications, and numerous abstracts and presentations.