LCDR Angela Shen Receives
the 2005 Joseph Garcia Jr. Award
LCDR
Angela K. Shen was awarded the 2005 Joseph Garcia
Jr. Award for Outstanding Junior Health Services
Officer of the Year at the COA meeting in
Philadelphia, PA. This award goes to the Junior
health services professional who has made a
significant contribution to the advancement of the
nation’s public health, demonstrated leadership in
their work, and shown involvement in health-related
professional or community organizations or
activities.
LCDR Shen was awarded the Joseph Garcia Jr. Award
for the significant technical and professional
contributions she has made as a reviewer in the
Division of Manufacturing and Product Quality (DMPQ),
Office of Compliance and Biologics Quality (OCBQ),
Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER),
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Her significant technical
contributions to review duties and professionalism
was exemplified by her dedication to duty when, at
the request of Senator Kennedy’s office, she
volunteered to lead the licensing inspection of a
pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Tel Aviv,
Israel to make a novel fibrin sealant product
available for use in the United States as a glue for
use during organ surgery. The request for
volunteers was issued due to the political climate
in the region in the aftermath of the September 11,
2001 terrorist attack, which included safety
concerns for government personnel due to the
recurring terrorist bombings in Israel. Another
example of her extreme dedication to duty was
exemplified in her excellence in completion of
multiple assignments to expedite the provisioning of
the National Pharmaceutical Stockpile with Smallpox
Vaccine in response to the September 11, 2001
terrorist attack, at the request of the Secretary of
Health and Human Services. The Agency (FDA) had a
critical need for information relating to the
development and production of a new generation of
Smallpox Vaccine, and the assessment of the process
development activities and manufacturing facilities
was essential to ensure the material produced would
be suitable for licensing. LCDR Shen was a key
member of the team that performed accurate and
timely assessments of facilities involved in the
production of Smallpox Vaccine by Acambis,
incorporated under the DHHS contract.
LCDR Shen identified the
opportunity to serve the national priorities for
promoting global health issues and applied to the
IETA program with supervisory support and
encouragement. Under the IETA program, she was
detailed to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) BOTUSA Project (Global AIDS
Program) in international HIV/AIDS prevention
(Botswana). She not only managed in excess of 5
million dollars in post-award cooperative
agreements, but she performed a rapid needs
assessment and identified a critical area of need
with regard to BOTUSA Project’s flagship program
supporting local HIV screening and counseling, the
Tebelopele Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT)
Centers. She developed and implemented strategies
and systems to track the utilization and inventories
of HIV test kits to more efficiently utilize the
medical testing supplies available in country. Her
efforts established a procurement system including a
secondary distributor of critical laboratory
supplies with time sensitive shelf-life expiration
dates. Prior to implementation of this program,
materials were not being utilized efficiently with
some material outdating prior to its’ use. To
implement her new program, she trained and developed
the capacity with the local staff to maintain the
program. In addition, she performed 12 site visits
to local clinics and performed audits throughout the
country to evaluate procedures, documentation
practices, inventory controls, and clinical supply
distribution practices.
LCDR Shen strives to be an
example of an outstanding officer. She is a natural
leader and works to set an example to her fellow
officers and colleagues both in the immediate
workplace and through her extensive contributions on
Commissioned Corps committees. As one of the
leaders of the Public Health Service Music Ensemble
she has worked to develop and built an
infrastructure to accommodate the exponential growth
of musicians to over 100 active participating
officers located in four three distinct areas of the
country (Atlanta, North Carolina, DC Metro) as well
as a cadre of field musicians (throughout the
country from Alaska and Arizona to South Carolina).
In planning, organizing, and leading this group she
also performs in the over 15 performances a year on
behalf of the Office of the Surgeon General
including a feature concert held at COA annually.
Without LCDR Shen’s work the infrastructure of an
informal group of vocalists and musicians would not
be able to accommodate the burgeoning increase in
interest in the Music Ensemble. Her talents
musically as well as organizationally are
impeccable.
Further LCDR Shen has been
instrumental in moving the Asian Pacific American
Officers Committee (APAOC) forward in their
mission as she is the Chair of the Strategic
Planning Sub-Committee as well as the liaison to the
Minority Officer’s Liaison Council (MOLC). As a
voting member of APAOC, she has spearheaded a
leadership group to re-vitalize the mission of
minorities in PHS and to enhance and promote
leadership, visibility and opportunities of
minorities in the Public Health Service. By
strategically working to re-define the group’s
mission (in line with OSG) and by clearly
identifying goals with reachable objectives LCDR
Shen is continuously working towards achieving
significant accomplishments for not only for
individuals and the PHS, but for the community at
large.
In community service LCDR Shen
strives to teach at least one CPR-AED/First Aid
course for the American Red Cross a quarter and is
on call for the organization’s Disaster Action
Team. This complements her role as a SERT Liaison
Officer for DHHS. When called to action on behalf
of her OPDIV (FDA/CBER), Department (HHS) or
community, LCDR Shen is open and receptive to
participate whenever possible and has deployed to
assist in disasters even outside the onus of CCRF.
In her ambitious career development LCDR Shen is
working towards her doctorate in Public Health
(Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical
Medicine) and is constantly challenging herself to
perform as a model officer. She has been chosen by
the Office of the Surgeon General to participate in
a recruitment video: Profiles in Public Health
and is an ideal officer to feature as one of the
many best and the brightest.
Her desire to develop her
scientific knowledge and expertise in public health
practice is evidenced in her work output,
professional development, and academic pursuits.
LCDR Shen is an asset to FDA/CBER and the
Commissioned Corps. Her extensive contributions to
both national and international health priorities of
the United States merit her recognition with the
2005 Joseph Garcia Jr. Award. |
