Texas Biomed adds new Assistant VP for Research
A Texas Biomed fan and collaborator, Amber Mallory, PhD, brings passion for service and expertise in biomedical research at the Department of Defense.
To help support expanding scientific faculty, staff and resources, Texas Biomed welcomes Amber Mallory, PhD, as Assistant Vice President for Research Resources & Strategic Initiatives.
“I have always had great respect for Texas Biomed,” says Dr. Mallory, who joined at the beginning of the year. “Texas Biomed is on the path to go up and up. I am enjoying learning from smart and accomplished scientists and supporting where I can to help the organization succeed.”
Dr. Mallory brings a wealth of experience in conducting and managing biomedical research for large organizations, having held research posts at Battelle, Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force.
Texas Biomed Executive Vice President for Research Joanne Turner, PhD, is thrilled Dr. Mallory has joined her team through the newly created role for the Institute.
“We have oversight of more than a dozen programs at Texas Biomed and this position helps give our scientists the full support and attention they need,” Dr. Turner says.
At the outset, Dr. Mallory is helping oversee Texas Biomed’s Molecular, Microscopy and Biology Core Labs, which encompass shared equipment and research staff. She is also working with the directors of Texas Biomed’s biosafety level (BSL) 3 and 4 labs to support biocontainment research operations.
Before moving to Texas Biomed she worked just down the road at Lackland Air Force Base, directing trauma and clinical care research for the U.S. Air Force 59th Medical Wing’s Science and Technology Office. As a civilian scientist, she assisted physicians in designing preclinical studies and conducted her own research seeking ways to minimize infection in austere and combat settings using nanoparticles.
An Ohio native, Dr. Mallory’s scientific path began on a peach farm. The burgeoning organic movement sparked her curiosity about pesticides used on her family’s farm. She attended Youngstown State University, where she studied chemistry and biology while playing Division 1 volleyball.
She earned a master’s degree in microbiology at Texas Tech. She thought she would focus on environmental toxicology, but transitioned to infectious disease and biomedical research after working in biocontainment labs at Battelle. She completed her PhD at The Ohio State University in Integrated Biomedical Sciences, specializing in immunology, toxicology and nanomaterials. In particular, she studied quantum dots, air pollution and zeolites, a group of porous materials that can be modified for drug delivery and other applications. Her research demonstrated that silver nanoparticles embedded in a type of zeolite showed antimicrobial properties.
She specifically sought out postdoctoral positions in government labs, including Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and the FDA in Washington, DC.
“I always wanted to work for the government and give back to the country in some way, that was important to me,” she says.
Dr. Mallory moved to San Antonio in 2013 to join the scientific team at The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine. There, she led mercury abatement research for the Navy. That led to opportunities to direct research programs for the Navy and Air Force primarily focused on combat casualty care.
While at the 59th Medical Wing, she regularly interacted with private, academic and industry sectors; one day, she received a cold call to collaborate with a company working on zeolites.
“It was my PhD mentor,” she says. “They had gone on to refine the zeolite compound that showed antimicrobial properties and patented it.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic began, Dr. Mallory received two grants to study different disinfection strategies in military settings, including one of those zeolite compounds. She immediately reached out to Texas Biomed to partner on the research. She worked with Professors Jordi B. Torrelles, PhD, and Luis Martinez-Sobrido, PhD, and Staff Scientist Israel Guerrero-Arguero, PhD, to evaluate how well the compound neutralized SARS-CoV-2 on a variety of surfaces, from tabletops to clothes.
That was such a positive experience that when the opportunity arose to join Texas Biomed full time, Dr. Mallory did not hesitate to apply.
“Research is a tiny sliver of the DOD’s mission,” Dr. Mallory says. “I love research and am excited to be part of an organization wholly dedicated to research.”