View source for Tara O'Toole

{{short description|American physician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Tara O'Toole
| birth_date          =
| birth_place         =
| death_date          =
| death_place         =
| education           = [[Vassar College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br>[[George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences]] ([[Doctor of Medicine|MD]])<br>[[Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health]] ([[Master of Public Health|MPH]])
| office              = Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Science and Technology
| termstart           = November 4, 2009
| termend             = September 23, 2013
}}
'''Tara O'Toole''' is an American physician who served as the [[Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Science and Technology]] from 2009 to 2013. She is currently a senior fellow and executive vice president at [[In-Q-Tel]].<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/460564-confronting-catastrophic-disasters-with-21st-century-technologies
|title=Confronting catastrophic disasters with 21st century technologies
|last=O’Toole
|first=Tara
|date=2019-09-09
|website=The Hill
|access-date=2020-03-06
|quote=}}</ref>
==Background==
Prior to her confirmation as Under Secretary (November 4, 2009), O'Toole founded, and served as chief executive officer and director of, the [[Center for Biosecurity]] at the [[University of Pittsburgh Medical Center]]. Concurrently, she was a Professor of Medicine and of Public Health at the [[University of Pittsburgh]].  She stepped down from her position as Under Secretary on September 23, 2013
From 2006 to 2007, she chaired the board of the [[Federation of American Scientists]]. In 2006, she was appointed to the board of the [[Google Foundation]]'s International Networked System for Total Early Disease Detection. From 2001 to 2003, she directed the Johns Hopkins Center for Civilian Biodefense Strategies. From 1993 to 1997, she served as the [[Assistant Secretary]] for Environment Safety and Health in the [[United States Department of Energy|Department of Energy]]. From 1984 to 1988, she practiced general internal medicine in community health centers in [[Baltimore]].
==Disaster response exercises==
O'Toole is best known for her pre-pandemic disaster response exercises. She was a principal author and producer of [[Operation Dark Winter|Dark Winter]] (2001) and [[Atlantic Storm]]<ref>[http://www.atlantic-storm.org Atlantic Storm, Center for Biosecurity]</ref> (2005), both of which simulated a covert outbreak of smallpox in the United States. Many experts applauded these exercises for publicizing the country's surprising vulnerabilities, including a vaccine shortage.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A40751-2001Jul23?language=printer "U.S. Called Vulnerable to Biological Attack," ''Washington Post'' (July 24, 2001)]{{dead link|date=June 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Critics charged that these exercises exaggerated the [[bioterror]] threat, leading to "an unnecessary increase in the number of research labs."<ref>[https://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/05/dhs-new-geek-in-chief-is-a-biodefense-disaster-critics-say/ "DHS’ New Chief Geek Is a Bioterror ‘Disaster,’ Critics Charge," ''Danger Room'' (May 6, 2009)]</ref>
In her nomination hearing, O'Toole said that this controversy stemmed from her estimated "secondary transmission rate"; that is, the number of smallpox infections caused as a result of the initial infections. O'Toole claimed that her rate of 10 derived from "the available empirical data"<ref>[http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_ID=19476eae-7f0c-403e-a1fe-f06160b2f7e7 O'Toole, Tara J., Congressional Testimony, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, United States Senate (June 10, 2009)]</ref> and coincided with data from a 2001 article in the peer-reviewed journal, [[Nature Magazine|''Nature'']].<ref>[http://www.nature.com/labinvest/journal/v81/n12/full/3780373a.html "The Pathology of Experimental Aerosolized Monkeypox Virus Infection in Cynomolgus Monkeys (Macaca fascicularis)," ''Nature'' (May 2, 2001)]</ref>
==Education==
O'Toole holds a bachelor's degree from [[Vassar College]], an MD from [[George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences]], and a Master of Public Health degree from [[Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health]]. In addition, she finished an internal medicine residency at [[Yale University]] and a fellowship in Occupational and Environmental Medicine at Johns Hopkins University.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* [https://www.dhs.gov/xabout/structure/bio_1258999553595.shtm Official biography]
* [http://hsgac.senate.gov/public/_files/061009Otoole.pdf Congressional testimony for nomination as Under Secretary]
* [http://www.whorunsgov.com/index.php?title=Profiles/Tara_O'Toole WhoRunsGov.com profile]
* {{C-SPAN|33586}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:OToole, Tara}}
[[Category:George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences alumni]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Physicians from Maryland]]
[[Category:United States Department of Homeland Security officials]]
[[Category:Women government officials]]
[[Category:University of Pittsburgh faculty]]
[[Category:Vassar College alumni]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health alumni]]