Francine Rogers has been named the interim safety officer for the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC).
Originally from Massachusetts, Rogers has been employed at UTHSC as the institutional biosafety officer since 2006. She has directed the laboratory safety program since 2009. In addition to these duties, Rogers will have responsibility for ensuring safety compliance and protocol for the entire Memphis campus. The position will report directly to Ken Brown, JD, MPA, PhD, FACHE, executive vice chancellor and chief operations officer for UTHSC.
Prior to employment at UTHSC, she worked for Harvard University conducting research in microbial ecology and public health, science education developing the laboratory component of a physical science curriculum and later moved to the Environmental Health and Safety Department to become the associate biosafety officer primarily responsible for the research laboratories on the Longwood Medical Campus. She has also served as an adjunct faculty member for a number of colleges in the Massachusetts area.
Rogers earned a Master of Science degree in in Microbiology and Immunology from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, where she conducted research on bacterial pathogenesis. She earned a second master’s degree (Master of Liberal Arts) at Harvard in environmental management. She is a Certified Biological Safety Professional (CBSP), Specialist Microbiologist (SM(NRCM)), and a Registered Biosafety Professional.