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Bruce Edwards Ivins

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Bruce Edwards Ivins
"This 2003 photo provided by the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases shows Bruce E. Ivins participating in an awards ceremony."
Born(1946-04-22)April 22, 1946
Lebanon, Ohio
DiedJuly 29, 2008(2008-07-29) (aged 62)
Frederick Memorial Hospital
Frederick, Maryland
Cause of deathSuicide
EducationUniversity of Cincinnati (Ph.D.)
EmployerUnited States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases

Bruce Edwards Ivins (April 22 1946 – July 29 2008),[1] was a United States government microbiologist and vaccinologist for 36 years[1] and senior biodefense researcher at the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) in Fort Detrick, Maryland for 18 years.[2] In July 2008 he reportedly committed suicide prior to any formal charges being filed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for an alleged connection to the 2001 anthrax attacks,[3] which killed five people and made 17 others ill.[4] U.S. Officials declared Ivins the culprit behind the anthrax killings on August 6, 2008.[5]

Biography

Early and family life

Bruce Ivins was born in Lebanon, Ohio to Thomas Randall Ivins and Mary Johnson Knight, as the youngest of three sons.[1] His father, a pharmacist, owned a drugstore and was active in the local Rotary Club and Chamber of Commerce, while his mother stayed at home and volunteered in her sons' Parent-Teacher Associations. The family went regularly to Lebanon Presbyterian Church.[6]

Avidly interested in science, Ivins was an active participant in extracurricular activities in high school, including National Honor Society, science fairs, the current events club, and the scholarship team all four years. He ran on the track and cross-country teams, worked on the yearbook and school newspaper, and was in the school choir and junior and senior class plays.[6]

Education and career

Ivins graduated with honors from the University of Cincinnati with a B.S. degree in 1968, an M.S. degree in 1971, and a Ph.D. degree in 1976, all in microbiology.[2] Ivins conducted his Ph.D. research under the supervision of Dr. P. F. Bonventre. His dissertation focused on different aspects of toxicity in disease-causing bacteria.[6]

Ivins was a scientist for 36 years[1] and senior biodefense researcher at the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) in Fort Detrick, Maryland for 18 years.[2] After conducting research on Legionella and cholera, in 1979 Ivins turned his attention to anthrax after the anthrax outbreak in the Soviet city of Sverdlovsk (also known as Yekaterinburg), which killed at least 64 after an accidental release at a military facility.[7]

He has published at least 44 scientific papers dating back to May 18, 1969.[8][9] His earliest known published work pertained to the response of peritoneal macrophages, a type of white blood cell, to infection by Chlamydia psittaci an infectious bacterium that can be transmitted from animals to humans. He was the co-author of numerous anthrax studies, including one on a treatment for inhalation anthrax published in the July 7 2008 issue of the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.[4] He often cited the 2001 Anthrax attacks in his papers to bolster the significance of his research in years subsequent to the attacks. In a 2006 paper in the prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, he writes with his co-authors; "Shortening the duration of antibiotic postexposure prophylaxis in a bioterrorism event involving B. anthracis by adding postexposure vaccination could greatly alleviate problems of noncompliance and side effects associated with prolonged antibiotic therapy. The value of adding vaccination to postexposure antibiotic prophylaxis should be considered in planning the public health response to bioterrorism events involving inhalational anthrax."[10]

Ivins was a coinventor on two US patents for anthrax vaccine technology, U.S. patent 6,316,006 and U.S. patent 6,387,665. Both of these patents are owned by his employer at the time, the US Army.

Personal interests

Ivins was a Roman Catholic. His pastimes included playing keyboard at his local church, Saint John the Evangelist;[1] he was a member of the American Red Cross;[1] he was an avid juggler and founder of the Frederick Jugglers.[11] He played keyboards in a Celtic band and would often compose and play songs for coworkers who were moving to new jobs.[6][7]

He was married to Diane Ivins for 33 years and they adopted two children together, a boy and a girl. They lived in a modest Cape Cod home in a post-World War II neighborhood right outside Fort Detrick, and he could walk to work.[1][6][7]

Alleged involvement in 2001 anthrax attacks and investigations

Main article: 2001 anthrax attacks

The 2001 anthrax attacks involved the mailing of several letters contaminated with anthrax to the offices of U.S. Senators Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy, as well as to the offices of ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, the New York Post, and the National Enquirer. [12][13]

Initial investigative role

Ivins became involved in the investigation of the 2001 anthrax attacks because he was regarded as a skilled microbiologist.[2] Ivins also helped the FBI analyze the powdery material recovered from one of the anthrax-tainted envelopes sent to a U.S. senator's office in Washington.[2]

2002 Fort Detrick anthrax containment breach

In 2002, an investigation was carried out as a result of an incident at Fort Detrick where anthrax spores had escaped carefully guarded rooms into the building’s unprotected areas.[14] The incident called into question the ability of USAMRIID to keep its deadly agents within laboratory walls seven months after the anthrax mailings.

A coworker told Ivins that she was concerned she was exposed to anthrax spores when handling an anthrax-contaminated letter. Ivins tested the technician’s desk area that December and found growth that had the earmarks of anthrax. He decontaminated her desk, computer, keypad and monitor, but did not notify his superiors. [14]

2003 Department of Defense commendation

On March 14, 2003, Ivins and two of his colleagues at USAMRIID at Fort Detrick received the Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service—the highest award given to Defense Department civilian employees—for helping solve technical problems in the manufacture of anthrax vaccine.[15]

2008 investigation

For some time, the FBI focused its investigation on Steven Hatfill, considering him to be the chief suspect in the attacks. In March 2008, however, authorities exonerated Hatfill and settled the lawsuit he initiated for $5.8 million.[16] According to ABC News, Ivins was considered a suspect by some in the FBI as early as 2002.[17] FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III changed leadership of the investigation in late 2006, and at that time Ivins became the main focus of the investigation.[2] The FBI thought Ivins, who had complained about the limits of testing anthrax drugs on animals[18], might have sent the anthrax letters in order to test a vaccine he had been developing.[19]

After Hatfill was no longer considered a suspect, Ivins began "showing signs of serious strain." As a result of his changed behavior, he lost access to sensitive areas at his job. He began being treated for depression and expressed some suicidal thoughts.[2] On March 19 2008 police summoned to Ivins' home in Frederick found him unconscious and sent him to the hospital.[6]

Late in July 2008, investigators informed Ivins of his impending prosecution for his alleged involvement in the 2001 anthrax attacks that Ivins himself had previously assisted authorities in investigating. It has been reported that the death penalty would have been sought in the case.[20] Ivins maintained his security clearance until July 10 however; ironically, Ivins had been publicly critical of the lab's security procedures for several years. [21]

Dr. W. Russell Byrne, a colleague who worked in the bacteriology division of the Fort Detrick research facility, said FBI agents "hounded" Ivins by twice raiding his home and that Ivins had been hospitalized for depression earlier in the month. According to Byrne and local police, Ivins had been removed from his workplace out of fears that he might harm himself or others. "I think he was just psychologically exhausted by the whole process," Byrne said. "There are people who you just know are ticking bombs," Byrne said. "He was not one of them." However, Tom Ivins, who last spoke to his brother in 1985, said, "It makes sense ... he considered himself like a god."[22]

The Los Angeles Times also reported that Ivins stood to gain financially from the attacks because he was a co-inventor on two patents for a genetically-engineered anthrax vaccine. The San Francisco-area biotechnology company, VaxGen, licensed the vaccine and won a federal contract valued at $877.5 million to provide the vaccine under the Project Bioshield Act.[23] However, biological warfare and anthrax vaccine expert Dr. Meryl Nass has expressed skepticism of this purported motive, pointing out that "Historically, government employees do not receive these royalties: the government does." [24]

Anonymous sources told the Associated Press[25] that Ivins reportedly was obsessed with the college sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma (KKG) ever since he was rebuffed by a woman in the sorority during his days as a student at the University of Cincinnati. According to The Smoking Gun, US Government court documents stated that Ivins edited the KKG article in Wikipedia using the account name "Jimmyflathead"[26] with which he attempted to add derogatory information about the sorority to the article.[27]

Reports were leaked that anthrax spores were found, thus suggesting the letters were mailed from, a postal drop box located at 10 Nassau Street, less than 100 yards away from a building at 20 Nassau Street containing an office used by Princeton University's Kappa Kappa Gamma chapter to store property. As of this date, leaks from the law enforcement community claim they have not been able to place Ivins in Princeton the day the letters were mailed. Katherine Breckinridge Graham, an advisor to Kappa's Princeton chapter, stated that there was nothing to indicate that any of the sorority members had anything to do with Ivins.[25]

On August 6 2008, a federal prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Taylor, officially made a statement that Ivins was the "sole culprit "in the 2001 anthrax attacks. [28] Taylor stated that Ivins had submitted false anthrax evidence to throw investigators off of his trail, was unable to adequately explain his late laboratory working hours around the time of the attacks, tried to frame his co-workers, had immunized himself against anthrax in early September 2001, was one of more than 100 people with access to the same strain of anthrax used in the killings, and had used similar language in an email to that in one of the anthrax mailings. Ivins' attorney, Paul F. Kemp, responded that the US government was, "'taking a weird guy and convicting him of mass murder' without real evidence."[29]

Allegations by Ivins' counselor

Documents show that Ivins was ordered late July 2008[citation needed] to stay away from Jean C. Duley, a social worker who counseled him. In her handwritten application for a protective order, Duley wrote that Ivins had stalked and threatened to kill her and had a long history of homicidal threats. However, in her testimony, Duley also stated that she had only known Ivins for 6 months.[30] Duley, who was apparently still a college student as recently as 2007[31], had been set to give testimony against Ivins on August 1, 2008. [22] Ivins, however, had no criminal record, whereas Duley herself has a history of convictions for driving under the influence, in addition to drug-related criminal charges and charges of battery by her ex -husband.[32]. Duley's credibility as a person and the credibility of her charges have been questioned on several other grounds[31].

Duley gave testimony late in July 2008 that Ivins had devised a "detailed homicidal plan" to kill his co-workers after learning he was going to be indicted on capital murder charges. Ivins had indicated that upon hearing of his possible indictment that he'd purchased a gun and a bullet-proof vest. [33]

Death

Ivins is alleged to have committed suicide on July 29, 2008, by overdosing on acetominophen with codeine. He died at Frederick Memorial Hospital.[34][4] His obituary was published on July 31[1], and his death was announced in a staff-wide email to USAMRIID colleagues.[2] No autopsy was ordered following his death.[35] Immediately after news of his death, the FBI refused to comment on the situation.[4] Ivins' attorney released a statement asserting that Ivins had cooperated with the six-year investigation by the FBI and also asserting that Ivins was innocent in the deaths.[36]

Ivins' family has made no public statement about the investigation or the suicide. His children placed messages on their Facebook pages saying goodbye to their father. "I will miss you Dad. I love you and I can’t wait to see you in Heaven," his son, Andy Ivins, wrote, "Rest in peace. It’s finally over."[7]

Patents

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Obituary: Dr. Bruce Edwards Ivins". Frederick News Post. 2008-07-31. Retrieved 2008-08-01. Dr. Bruce Edwards Ivins, 62, of Frederick, died Tuesday, July 29, 2008, at Frederick Memorial Hospital. He was the husband of Diane Ivins, they were married for 33 years. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Willman, David (2008-08-01). "Apparent suicide in anthrax case". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-08-01. A top government scientist who helped the FBI analyze samples from the 2001 anthrax attacks has died in Maryland from an apparent suicide, as the Justice Department was about to file criminal charges against him for the attacks, the Los Angeles Times has learned. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Cite error: The named reference "lat" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  3. ^ Apuzzo, Matt and Dishneau, David (2008-08-01). "U.S. wanted death penalty in anthrax case". Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-08-01. Federal prosecutors investigating the 2001 anthrax attacks were planning to indict and seek the death penalty against a top Army microbiologist who was developing a vaccine against the deadly toxin. The scientist apparently committed suicide this week.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ a b c d Jordan, Lara Jakes (2008-08-01). "Anthrax scientist commits suicide as FBI closes in". Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-08-01. A top U.S. biodefense researcher apparently committed suicide just as the Justice Department was about to file criminal charges against him in the anthrax mailings that traumatized the nation in the weeks following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to a published report. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ "Officials Say Scientist Was Solely Responsible for Anthrax Attacks". The Washington Post. August 6, 2008. {{cite news}}: Cite uses deprecated parameter |authors= (help)
  6. ^ a b c d e f Warrick, Joby (August 2, 2008). "A Scientist's Quiet Life Took A Darker Turn". Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-08-03. For most of his career, he was a casting agent's vision of a bench scientist: shy, eccentric, nerdy, soft-spoken. But sometime this spring, with the FBI closing in on him, Bruce E. Ivins's life took a dark turn that frightened his closest friends. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ a b c d Abruzzese, Sarah (August 2, 2008). "In Death Of Suspect, A Dark End For A Family Man And Community Volunteer". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-08-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ "Anthrax suspect was a prolific scientific author". Associated Press. August 4, 2004. Retrieved 2008-08-05. Suspected anthrax mailer Bruce Ivins was a prolific contributor to research articles in the arcane field of deadly pathogens, and was named as a co-author in more than 40 studies published in scientific journals since the late 1960s. But in the last 10 years or so, Ivins' role seemed to have shifted to that of a supporting player, albeit a highly skilled one. During the 1990s, Ivins was credited as the lead author on four out of 12 published journal articles. After 2000, he contributed to 16 articles, but was not named as the first author on any. His greatest prominence as a scientific author came during the 1980s, when he was the lead writer on seven articles. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  9. ^ "Ivins". PubMed. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
  10. ^ "Short-course postexposure antibiotic prophylaxis combined with vaccination protects against experimental inhalational anthrax". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
  11. ^ Yahoo News Image Gallery, image caption; Bruce Ivins, founder of the Frederick Jugglers, gives a juggling demonstration at Mullinix Park in Frederick, Md. on May 9, 1983. Federal prosecutors investigating the 2001 anthrax attacks were planning to indict and seek the death penalty against, Ivins, who is suspected of releasing the deadly toxin to test anthrax drugs he was developing. The scientist committed suicide this week.
  12. ^ "A Nation Challanged: The Disease. Anthrax Pervades Florida Site, and Experts See Likeness to That Sent to Senators". New York Times. 2001-12-05. Retrieved 2008-08-01. Two months after the death of Robert Stevens, the first of the nation's anthrax victims, new tests at his Florida workplace reveal a pattern of pervasive contamination that mystifies investigators. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ "Timeline: How The Anthrax Terror Unfolded". NPR.org. 2008-08-01. Retrieved 2008-08-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ a b Walker, Allison. "What went wrong". Frederick News Post. Retrieved 2008-08-01. During a two-week period in April four years ago, officials at the Army's lead biodefense laboratory at Fort Detrick discovered anthrax spores had escaped carefully guarded suites into the building's unprotected areas.
  15. ^ Vander Linden, Caree (March 19, 2003). "USAMRIID employees earn top civilian award". dcmilitary.com. Retrieved 2008-08-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ "Anthrax Scientist Reported to Kill Self". Associated Press. 2008-08-01. Retrieved 2008-08-03. Anthrax-laced letters that killed five people and severely rattled the post-9/11 nation may have been part of an Army scientist's warped plan to test his cure for the deadly toxin, officials said Friday. The brilliant but troubled scientist committed suicide this week, knowing prosecutors were closing in. ... Last month, the Justice Department cleared Ivins' colleague, Steven Hatfill, who had been wrongly suspected in the case, and paid him $5.8 million. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  17. ^ Ross, Brian (August 1, 2008). "Anthrax Suspect Under Scrutiny Since 2002". ABC News. Retrieved 2008-08-03. The US army bio-weapons scientist who killed himself this week, Bruce E. Ivins, had been under suspicion by some FBI agents since early 2002 when anthrax spores were found near his desk, but FBI supervisors were more focused then on another scientist, Steven Hatfill, and dismissed concerns about Ivins, federal law enforcement sources tell ABC News. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Text "Brian Ross" ignored (help)
  18. ^ "Suspect in anthrax-letter deaths kills himself". Associated Press. August 1, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-01. However, several U.S. officials said prosecutors were focusing on the 62-year-old Ivins and planned to seek a murder indictment and the death penalty. Authorities were investigating whether Ivins, who had complained about the limits of testing anthrax drugs on animals, had released the toxin to test the treatment on humans. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  19. ^ "US anthrax 'suspect' found dead". BBC. August 1, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-01. A top US scientist suspected of anthrax attacks in 2001 has apparently killed himself just as he was about to be charged, a newspaper reported. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  20. ^ "Scientist in anthrax case had darker side". Boston Globe. August 2, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-01. However, several US officials said prosecutors had been closing in on Ivins and planned to seek an indictment and the death penalty. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  21. ^ "Researcher Kept Security Clearance as FBI Closed In," Carrie Johnson, Marilyn W. Thompson and Joby Warrick, Washington Post, August 4, 2008
  22. ^ a b "Ivins had mild persona, but some saw dark side". Associated Press. August 1, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-01. Documents show that Ivins recently received psychiatric treatment, and that he was ordered last week to stay away from Jean C. Duley, a social worker who counseled him. In her handwritten application for a protective order, Duley asserted that Ivins had stalked and threatened to kill her and had a long history of homicidal threats. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  23. ^ "Anthrax scientist Bruce Ivins stood to benefit from a panic". Los Angeles Times. August 2, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-01. Bruce E. Ivins, the government biodefense scientist linked to the deadly anthrax mailings of 2001, stood to gain financially from massive federal spending in the fear-filled aftermath of those killings, the Los Angeles Times has learned. Ivins is listed as a co-inventor on two patents for a genetically engineered anthrax vaccine, federal records show. These are US6387665 and US6316006. Separately, Ivins also is listed as a co-inventor on an application to patent an additive for various biodefense vaccines. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  24. ^ http://anthraxvaccine.blogspot.com/
  25. ^ a b Jordan, Lara Jakes, and Matt Apuzzo, "Officials: Sorority obsession seen in anthrax case," Associated Press, August 4, 2008.
  26. ^ "User:Jimmyflathead". Wikipedia. Retrieved 2008-08-07.
  27. ^ The Smoking Gun, "Inside The Anthrax Probe", (specific page), August 6, 2008.
  28. ^ "Prosecutor calls researcher sole culprit in 2001 anthrax attacks". CNN. Retrieved 2008-08-06. A federal prosecutor declared Army biological weapons researcher Bruce Ivins the sole culprit in the 2001 anthrax attacks Wednesday, after releasing a stack of documents from a "herculean" investigation that lasted nearly seven years. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  29. ^ Jordan, Lara Jakes, Matt Apuzzo, "US: Ivins solely responsible for anthrax attacks", Associated Press, August 7, 2008.
  30. ^ "Therapist: Anthrax suspect tried to poison people". Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-08-04. Bruce E. Ivins, the late microbiologist suspected in the 2001 anthrax attacks, told his psychotherapist after learning he was about to be indicted that "he was going to go out in a blaze of glory, that he was going to take everybody out with him," she said. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  31. ^ a b "Jean C. Duley... tell us again..." Larisa Alexandrovna. Cite error: The named reference "atlargely" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  32. ^ "Additional key facts re: the anthrax investigation", Glenn Greenwald, Salon.com
  33. ^ "Therapist: Ivins described plot to kill colleagues". CNN. August 2, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-02. Therapist Jean C. Duley testified on July 24 that Bruce E. Ivins described a "detailed homicidal plan" to kill his co-workers after learning he was going to be indicted on capital murder charges. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  34. ^ "Man Suspected in Anthrax Attacks Said to Commit Suicide". New York Times. August 2, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-01. The seven-year investigation into the anthrax attacks that traumatized and baffled the nation just weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks has taken a stunning new turn with the apparent suicide of a scientist who was the prime suspect in the case. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  35. ^ "Scientist in Anthrax Case Said to Have Killed Himself". Bloomberg. August 1, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-01. Based on laboratory test results of blood taken from the body, the state medical examiner "determined that an autopsy wouldn't be necessary" to determine the cause of death, Martyak said. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  36. ^ Kemp, Paul F. (2008-08-01). "Statement from Attorneys Representing Dr. Bruce Ivins During Anthrax Investigation". Venable LLP. Retrieved 2008-08-01. For six years, Dr. Ivins fully cooperated with that investigation, assisting the government in every way that was asked of him. He was a world-renowned and highly decorated scientist who served his country for over 33 years with the Department of the Army. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

External links

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