Past Winners
2009 Recipient
Grace Kubin, PhD
Manager, Emergency Preparedness Branch
Texas Department of State Health Services, Laboratory Services Section
Grace Kubin, a dedicated professional, has truly displayed the qualities of an “emerging leader.” Dr. Kubin joined the Texas state public health laboratory in 2004 as a microbiologist and has since quickly advanced to her current position as manager of the Emergency Preparedness Branch. In this role, Dr. Kubin has developed working relationships with first responders, law enforcement, the FBI, sentinel laboratories, and the military to coordinate laboratory responses to biological and chemical threats in Texas. She is the Operations Chief for the Alpha team of the Texas Incident Command System and led in the creation of the Texas Chemical Threat Response Annual Meeting. For the past year, Dr. Kubin has been an active participant in the National Center for Public Health Laboratory Leadership Emerging Leaders Forum, where she is able to share her knowledge and skills in the development of curriculum for future leaders.
2008 Recipient
Leslie Wolf, PhD
Laboratory Director
North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health
Leslie Wolf’s career in public health began as a 1997 Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratory APHL/CDC Fellow at the North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health. After her fellowship, Wolf was hired at the North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health, where she quickly advanced in her career and was most recently appointed laboratory director in 2006. In her brief time as lab director she has led the NCSLPH through many transitions such as implementing a new laboratory management system and building a new facility.
Wolf has had a distinguished career, researching and implementing cutting-edge technologies to protect the public’s health. Some of her achievements include being recognized as a 2002 PulseStar Award recipient for her work with pulsed field gel electrophoresis DNA fingerprinting; leading the work in North Caroline to detect HIV RNA in pooled serum prior to seroconversion, which has been essential in preventing many HIV infections; and leading the CLIA Multi-Site Certificate Focus Group to produce 17 recommendations for improvement.
Wolf serves as a mentor for many laboratorians and is a dedicated advocate for the field of public health. Wolf has proven to be an effective leader, using her technical, managerial and interpersonal skills to serve her staff and the field of public health with distinction.
2007 Recipient
Patrick F. Luedtke, MD, MPH
Director
Utah Division of Epidemiology and Laboratory Services
Patrick Luedtke was chosen to receive the Emerging Leader Award in recognition of his instrumental leadership in advancing the laboratory practice within his first ten years in the profession. Luedtke serves as both director of public health laboratories and deputy director for epidemiology and laboratory services, both for the Utah Department of Health, and assistant professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at the University of Utah. Upon his appointment as director of public health laboratories, Luedtke’s advocacy before the Utah Legislature led to the approval and funding for a new public health laboratory. Under his guidance, Utah Public Health Laboratories recently participated in the State Public Health Laboratory System Performance Measurement Program, designed to provide information to improve and coordinate public health laboratory activities at the state and local levels. Luedtke is also a member of the APHL scholar team with the National Public Health Leadership Institute. His team received the Martha Katz national award for a leadership project that best reflected the “strategic, innovative and successful team leadership.” Prior to his public health positions, Luedtke served for several years as an officer with the US Navy.
2006 Recipient
James Rudrik, PhD
Microbiology Section Manager,
Michigan Department of Community Health Laboratory
James Rudrik is recognized for his outstanding achievements in the field of public health laboratory practice since entering the field in 2001. Rudrik served as Michigan’s first Bioterrorism Training Coordinator for Sentinel laboratories, and many of the programs and training materials he implemented in this capacity are still being used today. He provided the vision for the design and construction of the first modular laboratory in the nation that provides the capacity for all-hazards handling of suspect specimens. Rudrik provides technical expertise on bioterrorism testing procedures to the LRN and CDC and currently serves on the Protocols Committee to evaluate new protocols before their release to the LRN. Rudrik’s exemplary work in public health laboratory practice, particularly in the area of emergency preparedness, has provided laboratories in Michigan and around the country with sound guidance and best practices to follow.