Bartlett, John G.

2/12/1937–
AMERICAN
PHYSICIAN

John G. Bartlett is known as one of the founding directors of the Center for Civilian Biodefense Strategies in 1997. Under the guidance of Bartlett and D.A. Henderson, the Center's objective is to stop the development and use of biological weapons and to minimize the consequences to victims if such weapons are used. Today, Bartlett is a Stanhope Bayne-Jones professor of medicine and chief of The Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, Maryland) School of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine.

In 1959 Bartlett was awarded an undergraduate degree at Dartmouth University in Hanover, New Hampshire. From there, he received his doctor of medicine (M.D.) degree in 1965 from Upstate Medical Center School of Medicine in Syracuse, New York. For the next three years, Bartlett performed his residency training in internal medicine, first at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts (1966–1967) and then at the University of Alabama, Birmingham (1967–1968). He began, in 1968, his fellowship training in infectious diseases at UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) School of Medicine and the Wadsworth Veterans Administration Hospital (Los Angeles).

Bartlett became a faculty member at UCLA and the School of Medicine, Tufts University (Boston) in 1970. Ten years later, in 1980, Bartlett transferred to The Johns Hopkins University to assume the positions he presently holds: professor in the School of Medicine (and joint appointment in the Epidemiology Department) and chief of the Infectious Diseases Department. From 1980 to today, Bartlett has performed research within the areas of anaerobic infections, antibiotic-associated colitis, diarrhea, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), pathogenic mechanisms of Bacteroides fragilis, and pneumonia, with clinical interests in infectious diseases, HIV primary/managed care, and HIV and hemophilia.

Members of the Center for Civilian Biodefense Strategies, with past affiliation to The Johns Hopkins University and current affiliation, as of November 1, 2003, to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, have used their expertise to: build a world network to improve biosecurity communications; provide independent research and analysis for the bioscience, government, national security, medicine, and public health sectors; propose, design, build, and promote systems to manage the consequences of biological attacks; promote responsible use of bioscience/biotechnology; and develop bioterrorism scenarios. In 2001, the Center co-sponsored the "Dark Winter" scenario at Andrews Air Force Base (Maryland), where participants responded to a hypothetical smallpox attack on the United States.

As the author of 41 editions of 13 books, more than 300 articles, and over 300 chapters, reviews, and letters, one of Bartlett's more recently authored books is PDR Guide to Biological and Chemical Warfare Response. Bartlett currently chairs the Antimicrobial Availability Task Force for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. He has been a member of such organizations as the American Society for Clinical Investigation, Anaerobe Society of America, Society of Critical Care Medicine, American College of Physicians, and Institute of Medicine. Bartlett has been on the editorial boards of such publications as Infectious Diseases in Clinical Practice, Clinical Infectious Diseases, Medicine, American Journal of Medicine, and Journal of Clinical Illness.

see also Biological warfare, advanced diagnostics; Bioterrorism.