Steven John Phillips, PhD: A Conversation with the Editor with an Emphasis on Hospital and Research Safety

Abstract

Steve Phillips is the biological safety officer at the Baylor Research Institute (BRI) and at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas (BUMC). He was born on August 5, 1949, in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in several cities in that state. He graduated from Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, with a bachelor's degree in chemistry and biology in 1971 and received a master's degree in microbiology from the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, in 1974. In 1977, he received a PhD in microbiology from the same university, specializing in microbial genetics. From 1978 until 1980, he was a fellow in the Department of Microbiology at the University of Rochester School of Medicine in Rochester, New York. From there, he worked at the Dow Chemical Company (17 years) in Midland, Michigan, Occidental Chemical Company (5 years) in Dallas, Texas, and Carpet and Rug Institute (2 years) in Dalton, Georgia, before joining BRI and BUMC in 2004. He has spent many years in the laboratory and some in administration. For his efforts, he has received several honors, including the Alumni Achievement Award from Knox College (1996), the President's Environmental Care Award (1992), and the Ohio State University Excellence in Teaching Award (several times). He has published approximately 20 articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals and has presented papers at numerous seminars. He refereed high school football games for 34 years. He has been married to Peggy Chivington (nee Shirk) for 35 years, and they are the proud parents of a daughter, Amanda. I met Dr. Phillips when he was inspecting my laboratory and was in contact with him on several occasions subsequently. BUMC is fortunate to have this very talented scientist who is a very good guy.