Ayaad Assaad, Ph.D. (born 1948), is an Egyptian-American

microbiologist A microbiologist (from Ancient Greek, Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of Microorganism, microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, f ...

and toxicologist. Since 1997 he has worked for the US

Environmental Protection Agency A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

testing pesticides.

Biography

Assaad was born in Egypt and became a naturalized US citizen in 1981. He holds a Ph.D. in

physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

from

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

Ames, Iowa Ames () is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately north of Des Moines in central Iowa. It is best known as the home of Iowa State University (ISU), with leading agriculture, design, engineering, and veterinary medici ...

. His wife is from

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

. Assaad worked as a civilian research scientist at the US Army's Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases ( USAMRIID), in

Fort Detrick Fort Detrick () is a United States Army Futures Command installation located in Frederick, Maryland. Historically, Fort Detrick was the center of the U.S. biological weapons program from 1943 to 1969. Since the discontinuation of that program, i ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

from 1989-1997. While there, he developed a

ricin Ricin ( ) is a lectin (a carbohydrate-binding protein) and a highly potent toxin produced in the seeds of the castor oil plant, ''Ricinus communis''. The median lethal dose (LD50) of ricin for mice is around 22 micrograms per kilogram of body ...

vaccine. In 1991, when working at USAMRIID, Assaad filed a formal complaint against co-workers including Philip Zack and Marian Rippy for racial harassment. The USAMRIID Commander, Col. Ronald Williams, investigated and ruled in Assaad's favor, singling out Zack and Rippy for leading the so-called "Camel Club" which had anonymously sent Assaad an eight-page insulting poem. According to ''Salon'' magazine: "The Army investigation documents further revealed that the two ack and Rippy both married, were also having an affair." Col. Williams wrote to Assaad: "Based upon your complaint, I directed that an informal investigation be conducted. The investigation revealed that Lieutenant Colonel Zack and Dr. Rippy had participated in discriminatory behavior. On behalf of the United States of America, the Army, and this Institute, I wish to genuinely and humbly apologize for this behavior." Both Zack and Rippy were reprimanded. Zack left USAMRIID in December 1991, Rippy left in February 1992. Assaad stayed on until March 1997 Budget cuts there led to Assaad being laid off in March 1997, for which he sued the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

for age and ethnic discrimination. On October 2, 2001 (three days before the first fatality from

anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...

in the 2001 domestic US terrorism attacks),

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

Agent Gregory Leylegian called and asked Assaad to come in for questioning, which he did the next day. The FBI had received an anonymous letter, postmarked September 21, 2001, in which an alleged co-worker warned that Assaad might be planning a biological attack. The timing is noteworthy because anthrax-victim Robert Stevens was not admitted to a

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

hospital until October 2, and he was not diagnosed with anthrax until October 3. The first set of letters containing real anthrax were mailed on September 18. The 212-word letter sent to the FBI was unsigned and computer-typed. It stated, in part: "Dr. Assaad is a potential biological terrorist. ..I have worked with Dr. Assaad and I heard him say that he has a vendetta against the U.S. government and that if anything happens to him, he told his sons to carry on." According to Assaad: "The letter-writer clearly knew my entire background, my training in both chemical and biological agents, my security clearance, what floor where I work now, that I have two sons, what train I take to work, and where I live." Don Foster concluded it was sent by a female officer at Ft. Detrick. The FBI cleared Assaad of these allegations, according to Chris Murray, an FBI spokesman (as reported in ''Salon''): "We received an anonymous letter with certain allegations about Dr. Assaad. Our investigation has determined those allegations are unfounded. Our investigation is complete. Period."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Assaad, Ayaad American microbiologists 1948 births Living people Iowa State University alumni People with acquired American citizenship Egyptian emigrants to the United States

Biography

See also

References