Meryl Nass, MD
Mount Desert Island Hospital
Bar Harbor, ME 04609
(207) 288-5081 ext. 220 or pager 447
cell: (207) 522-5229
email: mnass@gwi.net
Professional Chronology
BS Biology 1974, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Lab Technician 1974-1976, Immunology Department. John Curtin School of Medical Research,
Canberra, Australia
MD Degree 1980; attended
New Jersey Medical School 1976-78, attended
University of Mississippi Medical School, 1978-80
Birth of two children, 1980 and 1981, with part-time work
as medical consultant for Social Security Disability, 1980-1982
Internal Medicine Residency 1982-5, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson,
Mississippi
Emergency Room Physician 1985-1999, Parkview Hospital, Brunswick ME (2 years), Wing
Hospital, Palmer MA (10 years), Farren Hospital, Turners Falls MA (1 year),
Franklin Medical Center, Greenfield MA (1 year)
Instructor, University of Massachusetts Medical School,
Department of Internal Medicine, 1989-1993
Internal Medicine Physician 1993, Kaiser Permanente, Amherst Massachusetts; 1999-2002
solo practitioner, Freeport, Maine
Removal of spinal cord meningioma November 2002,
necessitating closure of my solo practice
Internist and Hospitalist 2003-present, Mount
Desert Island Hospital, Bar Harbor, Maine
Listed since 2004 in MarquisÕ ÒWhoÕs Who in America.Ó Listed since 2005 in ÒWhoÕs Who in the
World.Ó Listed since 2006 in ÒWhoÕs
Who in Medicine and Healthcare,Ó ÒWhoÕs Who in Science and EngineeringÓ and ÒWhoÕs
Who in American WomenÓ
Researcher, Author, Public Speaker, Expert Witness
Investigated worldÕs largest anthrax epizootic, in
Zimbabwe, and showed its cause was biological warfare. This was the first ever
publication in which an epidemic was analyzed scientifically to distinguish
whether it was natural or deliberately caused. Developed a model to assess
epidemics for the likelihood they are caused by biological warfare, 1989-1992;
Dr. NassÕ investigation was discussed in a 1994 report on biological warfare by
The Royal Society, U.K. (http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/document.asp?id=1886),
in the 1999 book Plague Wars by BBC Senior Correspondent
Tom Mangold and Jeff Goldberg, and in other books and articles.
Consulted for Cuban Ministry of Health on optic and
peripheral neuropathy epidemic affecting 50,000 Cubans; accurately diagnosed
its cause as cyanide toxicity in the setting of nutritional deficiency and
assisted with investigation and treatment regimens, 1993.
Member, Federation of American Scientists Working Group
on Investigation of Alleged Use or Release of Biological or Toxin Weapons
Agents. Coauthored a detailed report for the 1996 Biological Weapons Convention
Review Conference on how to investigate allegations of biological warfare,
1994-1996. http://www.fas.org/bwc/papers/report.html
¤ Produced
two Congressional testimonies (for the House Government Reform Committee
November 2001 http://www.anthraxvaccine.org/response.htm
and Senate HELP Subcommittee February 2005 http://www.ahrp.org/testimonypresentations/NassBiodefense0205.php) that explained how to develop effective protections
and responses for biological warfare threats, and pitfalls to avoid. Critiqued
the stockpiling of millions of doses of untested and unlicensed therapeutics in
the National Strategic Stockpile, and Project Bioshield legislation (passed in
2004 and 2005) that could lead to their mandated use by US civilians and
soldiers.
Evaluated government-sponsored anthrax research in
relation to military policy and Biological Weapons Convention norms, 1989-1991.
Used anthrax as a model for discussion of how to
prevent biological warfare, 1991-1992.
Reviewed anthrax vaccines and other therapies to create
a model for effective biological warfare prophylaxis, 1997-1999.
Produced numerous reports, academic and popular
articles, and spoke widely throughout the US to educate military
servicemembers, Congress and the public about anthrax, the science underlying
biological warfare prophylaxis and the range of available methods for
responding to a bioterrorism threat.
Produced testimonies at the requests of the House Subcommittee on
National Security, the House Armed Services Committee, and the House Committee
on Government Reform. Assisted
Congressional staff in hearing preparations. Spoke before two Institute of Medicine committees: on Gulf
War Illness exposures, and safety and efficacy of the anthrax vaccine.
Critiqued the March 2002 Institute of Medicine Report on anthrax vaccine safety
and efficacy. 1998-present.
Developed a range of recommendations for dealing with
the anthrax domestic terrorism crisis as it unfolded, published on my website,
and adopted by other authors, 2001.
Quoted in the New York Times, Boston Globe, Wall Street
Journal, Chicago Tribune, LA Times, USA Today, The Lancet, New Scientist and
scores of other newspapers and journals, regarding anthrax attacks, anthrax
vaccine, and preventing and responding to bioterrorism, 1990-present.
Interviewed on all major US TV networks and scores of
radio/TV programs in the US, Japan, France, Germany, Spain, Canada and
Australia, 1998-present.
Investigated the cause of chronic symptoms in survivors
of inhalation anthrax; this problem was discussed on page A1 of the NY Times
September 16, 2002.
Medical Ethics, Informed Consent
Provided written comments to the draft Joint Vaccine
Acquisition Program Environmental Impact Statement on proposal to use soldiers
for vaccine experiments without informed consent. (See the Joint Vaccine Acquisition
Program: Final Programmatic Environmental Assessment. Joint Vaccine Acquisition
Program Project Management Office, Department of the Army, August 1997)
Provided written comments to FDA and the House National
Security Subcommittee on Executive Order 13139, which created a new policy for
military use of unlicensed medical therapeutics without informed consent, 1999 http://www.anthraxvaccine.org/doc1.htm
Wrote popular and academic articles dealing with the
use of unlicensed and expired medical products in soldiers, and the conflicts
of interest endemic to military medicine, 1999-2004
Critiqued the NIH-sponsored multi-center ARDSNet study
of ventilator settings in ARDS and acute lung injury, on the basis of:
unethical enrollment without informed consent, failure to apply the current
standard of care in the control arm, inability to diverge from the study
protocol when patients exhibited evidence of harm, poor experimental design
that led to the spurious claim that low-volume ventilation strategies should be
adopted as the new standard of care, and inadequate data safety
monitoring. The NIHÕs Office of
Human Research Protection subsequently halted this trial, 2003 http://www.ahrp.org/testimonypresentations/ARDSNet0603/nass.html
Critiqued the military collection of adverse event
data, in which the rate of serious side effects for smallpox vaccine in
soldiers was only 14% as high as determined by CDC for vaccinated civilians,
2003 http://www.ahrp.org/infomail/03/11/03.php
Consultant or Reviewer:
The Medical Letter, 1998-present
General Accounting Office, 1998-9
American Hospital Formulary Service 2002 Drug
Information Yearbook, 2001
Interamerican Development Bank, 2001
Medcases Inc., 2001
Expert Opinion on Pharmacotherapy, 2002
The Lancet, 2002
SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research
Institute) Yearbook, 2002
Unsolved Mysteries (television program), 2002
Epotec 2002
MedaCorp 2003-present
Expert Opinion on Biological Therapy, 2003
Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 2006
BioMedCentral, 2006
Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, 2006
Medical Advisory Board Member:
Alliance for Human Research Protection, New York, NY
Institute for Molecular Medicine, Huntington Beach, CA
National Vaccine Information Center, Vienna, VA
National Military and Biodefense Vaccine Project,
Vienna, VA
Protecting Our Guardians, Birmingham, AL
Testimonies (invited)
Hearing, House Subcommittee on National Security,
Veterans Affairs and International Relations. April 29, 1999. ÒAnthrax Vaccine:
Safety, Efficacy and Legality.Ó (Written and oral) http://www.anthraxvaccine.org/Testimonies.html
Nass M. Letter. Data vs Conclusions in the Optic
Neuritis Vaccination Investigation. Arch Neurol 2006; 63: 1809-1810.
Nass M. Letter. Safety of the smallpox vaccine among
military recipients.
JAMA. 2003 ;290:2123-4.
Nass M. Anthrax Vaccine: Caveat Emptor (Let the Buyer
Beware). Current Treatment Options in Infectious Disease 2003;5:361-4.
Nass M and Nicholson G. Anthrax Vaccine: Historical
Review and Current Controversies. Journal of Nutritional and Environmental
Medicine 2002; 12: 277-86. http://www.immed.org/publications/gulf_war_illness/2JNEM_Nass_Nicolson2002ss.html
Nicholson GL, Berns P, Nasrall MY, Haier J, Nicholson
NL and Nass M. Gulf War Illnesses: Chemical, Biological and Radiological
Exposures Resulting in Chronic Fatiguing Illnesses Can be Identified and
Treated. J Chronic Fatigue Syndrome 2003; 11:135-154. http://www.immed.org/publications/gulf_war_illness/netaGWI_JCFS.html
Nass M. Author Reply. American Journal of Public Health
2002; 92: 1708-9. http://www.anthraxvaccine.org/CV/AJPH_letter_exchange.html
Nass M. Anthrax Vaccine Not Safe and Effective
(letter). Emergency Medicine News, July 2002; 24: 44. http://www.anthraxvaccine.org/emn.html
Nass M. The Anthrax Vaccine Program, and an Analysis of
the CDCÕs Recommendations for Vaccine Use. American Journal of Public Health,
2002; 92: 715-21. http://www.anthraxvaccine.org/CV/AJPH_May2002.html
Nass M. Who is Protecting the Public Health? Z
Magazine, April 2002; 14: 7-10. http://www.zmag.org/ZMag/articles/april02nass.htm
2. Nicholson
GL, Nass M, Nicholson NL. The Anthrax Vaccine Controversy—Questions about
its Efficacy, Safety and Strategy. Medical Sentinel, 2000; 5: 97-101. http://www.haciendapub.com/article43.html
3. Nicholson
GL, Nass M, Nicholson NL. Anthrax Vaccine: Controversy Over Safety and
Efficacy. Antimicrobics and Infectious Disease Newsletter, 2000; 18:1-6. http://www.immed.org/publications/gulf_war_illness/anthrax3-18-00.html
4. Nass
M. Should the Military Suspend Its Anthrax Vaccine Program? Physicians Weekly,
June 19, 2000; 17:1.
Dr. NassÕ papers have
been included in the curricula at Stanford Medical School, HarvardÕs Kennedy
School of Government and other graduate and undergraduate programs.
¤
Stars and Stripes. March, 2001
¤
Maine Times. Page 9. August 26, 1999
Books that have discussed Dr. NassÕ research and writing
¤
The War Next Time: Countering Rogue States and Terrorists
Armed with Chemical and Biological Weapons. Schneider BR and Davis JA, Eds.
USAF Counterproliferation Center, Maxwell AFB, Alabama. (See Chapter 5:
Pointing the Finger: Unclassified
Methods to Identify Covert Biological Warfare Programs, by Dorothy L. DuBois.)
2004
¤
Project Coast: ApartheidÕs Chemical and Biological
Warfare Programme. Gould C and Folb P. United Nations Publications (UNIDIR).
2002.
¤
Anthrax: A Deadly Shot in the Dark. Thomas S. Heemstra.
Crystal Communications. 2002.
¤
Bio-terrorism: How to Survive the 25 Most Dangerous
Biological Weapons. Pamela Weintraub. Citadel Press. 2002.
¤
The Rollback of South AfricaÕs Biological Warfare
Program. Stephen Burgess and Helen Purkitt. US Air Force Institute for National
Security Studies. 2001.
¤
Bioterrorism and Biocrimes. W. Seth Carus. Center for
Counterproliferation Research, National Defense University. 2001.
¤
Anthrax, A Practical Guide for Citizens. The Parents
Committee for Public Awareness. Harvard Perspectives Press. 2001.
¤
Gulf War Syndrome, Legacy of a Perfect War. Alison
Johnson. MCS Information Exchange. 2001
¤
Immunization:
History, Ethics, Law and Health. Catherine Diodati. Integral
Aspects Incorporated. 2000.
¤
Plague Wars: The
Terrifying Reality of Biological Warfare. Tom Mangold and Jeff Goldberg.
St. MartinÕs Press. 1999.
¤
Scientific Aspects of Control of Biological Weapons.
The Royal Society. 1994.