By Charlene N. Rivera-Bonet | Waisman Science Writer
The Waisman Center welcomes Steve Marshall, MS, MSPH, as the new associate director for finance and administration. Marshall, previously the division administrator of infectious diseases at the School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH), brings extensive expertise in grant writing and research administration. Prior to Marshall, Jody Bleck, MS, held the position for 12 years.
“We are delighted to have Steve Marshall as our new associate director. He brings a wealth of expertise and leadership that will contribute to our community. I look forward to working together for the years to come,” says Qiang Chang, PhD, director of the Waisman Center.
Marshall, originally from Orlando, Florida, obtained his bachelor’s in biology from Iowa State University with the intention of going into veterinary medicine. After working in a small animal clinic as a veterinary technician, he quickly realized that veterinary medicine wasn’t the path for him. He pivoted into microbiology research, which started the journey that brought him here today.
He started working in the laboratory of internationally-renowned microbiologist Ronald Jones, PhD, at the University of Iowa doing antibiotic resistance surveillance. It started with research and writing, and developed into him being in charge of a surveillance project that became international. “And at that time, I started going back to grad school because I was getting interested in epidemiology, and got my degree in epidemiology,” Marshall says. “That’s what brought my family to Madison.”
Marshall got a job as an epidemiologist in the Wisconsin State Health Department doing outbreak investigations, but that quickly shifted into grant writing on bioterrorism preparedness after the events of September 11. Through this time, he dispersed money to all the local health departments and worked with the state legislature to pass bills on the matter.
He went back into the lab to write grants and do influenza antiviral resistance surveillance at the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene just prior to the swine flu pandemic of 2009. “We became kind of the CDC North, where a lot of the national specimens went to the CDC but everything from the Midwest came to us at the state lab. And I initially got to do all of the PCR and Pyrosequencing testing which was really fascinating,” Marshall recalls.
He soon got pulled back into administrative work, and started overseeing the research administration and operations for the lab. Eventually, he became assistant director. This new role broadened his horizons from communicable diseases into many other areas in the state lab such as environmental health, occupational health, and newborn screenings. “That’s where I first heard about the Waisman Center. Basically, all the testing for newborns in Wisconsin went to the state lab,” he says.
When a position as division administrator of infectious diseases came up at SMPH he thought it was a good opportunity to return to infectious diseases, this time with a clinical focus. He led this group for six years, being responsible for the administrative functions, financial management and planning, and operational affairs of the division and service units.
His landing at the Waisman Center was not entirely planned. He wasn’t seriously looking for other jobs when the position as associate director at the Waisman Center came up. “I kind of thought ‘oh, that might be a really good fit. I should apply for that.’ But I was so busy. I decided, well, I’ll let the universe decide,” Marshall said. He said he would apply if the position got posted again. And it did. “So, I applied and as I interviewed I was just like ‘wow, this is too good to be true. This is a really neat operation and the mission is wonderful’,” he adds.
Marshall’s wife grew up with a brother who had Cri-du-chat syndrome, a rare genetic disorder caused by the deletion of a portion of chromosome five. Witnessing what his wife’s family went through as far as getting services made him appreciate the work done at Waisman.
Marshall is looking forward to being part of the Waisman Center community, and getting to know everybody and what everyone is doing. “I know that Jody has done an amazing job and I just want to make sure everything that she’s built is continuing to operate well,” Marshall says. “And I’m looking forward to the whole future of what the next steps are. 50 years is behind us and what’s the next 50 years?”
He is also eager to get to know the community that the center serves by participating in outreach events such as the Waisman Whirl.
Outside of work, Marshall enjoys hanging out with his wife and two kids, one a recent college graduate and one a college student, watch movies, play boardgames, and go biking. For two years in a row, he has completed the RAGBRAI, an annual bike ride across Iowa.
Congratulations, Steve Marshall, on your new role and welcome to the Waisman Center community!
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