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Rick Bright

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For persons of a similar name, see Richard Bright (disambiguation).
Rick Bright
Director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response
In office
November 15, 2016 – April 22, 2020
PresidentBarack Obama
Donald Trump
Preceded byRobin Robinson
Succeeded byGary Disbrow (acting)
Personal details
Born
Rick Arthur Bright

Hutchinson, Kansas, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Kansas
Auburn University, Montgomery (BS)
Emory University (MS, PhD)
Scientific career
FieldsImmunology
InstitutionsEmory University
Yerkes National Primate Research Center
Novavax
Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority
ThesisStudies on pathogenicity and control of H5N1 influenza A viruses in mice (2002)
Doctoral advisorJacqueline Katz
Other academic advisorsJeff Barksdale

Rick Arthur Bright is an American immunologist, vaccine researcher, former public health official, and whistleblower.[1][2][3] He was the director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) from 2016 to 2020. In May 2020, he filed a whistleblower complaint, alleging that his early warnings about the COVID-19 pandemic were ignored by the Trump administration and illegally retaliated against him by ousting him from his role[4][5][6] and demoting him to a position at the National Institutes of Health.[6] On October 6, 2020, Bright resigned from the government.[2]

Early life and education

Bright was born and raised in Hutchinson, Kansas.[7]

In 1984, Bright graduated from Hutchinson High School.[7] Following two years at the University of Kansas,[7] he enlisted in the military,[8] and after his discharge, he received a Bachelor of Science degree with a double major in biology (medical technology) and physical science (chemistry)[9][8] from Auburn University-Montgomery.[10] His undergraduate academic advisor was Jeff Barksdale.[10] Bright also graduated with magna cum laude distinction and was a 1996 student initiate of Omicron Delta Kappa. In 2002, Bright earned a Ph.D. in immunology and molecular pathogenesis (virology) from the Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences at Emory University School of Medicine.[11][9] His dissertation was titled Studies on pathogenicity and control of H5N1 influenza A viruses in mice.[10] Bright's doctoral advisor was Jacqueline Katz.[10] In 2010, Bright completed the Advanced Course in Vaccinology (ADVAC) from the Fondation Mérieux and University of Geneva in Annecy, France.[9]

Career

From 1990 to 1992, Bright worked as a product manager in the Research & Development Department of Osborn Laboratories in Olathe, Kansas. From 1994 to 1995, he was a research assistant in the Flow Cytometry Department of the Alabama Reference Lab in Montgomery, Alabama.[9] From 1997 to 2000, Bright worked at the Emory University Department of Microbiology and Immunology and in the Vaccine Research Center at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Atlanta, Georgia.[9]

From 1998 to 2002, Bright worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, in the Influenza Branch, Immunology and Viral Pathogenesis Section, where he studied Influenza A virus subtype H5N1.[9]

From 2002 to 2003, Bright shifted to working at the pharmaceutical company, Altea Therapeutics (a subsidiary of Nitto Denko) in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was a senior research scientist in their Vaccine and Immunology Programs.[9][12]

In 2003, Bright rejoined the CDC as an immunologist/virologist in their Disease Control and Prevention, Influenza Division, Strain Surveillance Branch in Atlanta, Georgia, where he worked on their influenza antiviral drug program and focused on avian influenza. He held that position until 2006.[9][13]

From 2006 to 2008, Bright returned to working in the private sector of the biotechnology industry at Novavax in Maryland, where he was vice president of their global influenza programs as well as of their vaccine research and development. For his work there, he was an adviser to the WHO and the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and became the recipient of the prestigious Charles C. Shepard Science Award for Scientific Excellence,[14] jointly awarded by the CDC and the WHO. During that time, he also participated in World Health Organization (WHO) committees on vaccine development and pandemic preparedness.[9][12][15][16]

In February 2008, Bright worked at the non-profit PATH on a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant funded project as the director in vaccine manufacturing capacity building in Viet Nam. He was also the scientific director of the influenza vaccine project as well as the global vaccine development program, a position he held until October 2010.[9]

In 2010, Bright joined the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) governmental agency Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). He was the program lead of BARDA International Programs, then in June 2011 became acting chief of the influenza antiviral drug advanced development program, a position he held until December 2011. From June 2011 to December 2015, he was both deputy director and acting director of BARDA's Influenza and Emerging Diseases Division, eventually serving as director of the division from December 2014 to November 2016. From February 2016 to November 2016, he was an incident commander in the ASPR/BARDA Zika Response.[9][17]

On November 15, 2016, after a competitive selection process, President Obama appointed Bright to the position of director of BARDA.[11][18][19] Bright succeeded founding director Robin Robinson. In addition to his role as director of BARDA, Bright was also deputy assistant secretary for Preparedness and Response in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR).[15][20]

On April 20, 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Bright was reassigned to the National Institutes of Health.[21] An HHS spokesperson said Bright's new role will be to help "accelerate the development and deployment of novel point-of-care testing platforms".[22] Bright characterized his transfer as a retaliatory demotion and asked the HHS Inspector General to investigate it.[23] As of May 5, Bright had not reported to NIH to start his new assignment.[24]

COVID-19 whistleblower complaint

On May 5, 2020, Bright filed a whistleblower complaint ("Complaint of Prohibited Personnel Practice and Other Prohibited Activity") against the HHS in the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, an independent agency that protects whistleblowers.[2][19][25] The complaint included accompanying exhibits[26] only some of which have become public,[27] alleging that his early warnings about the coronavirus were ignored.[28] In his complaint, Bright asked to be reinstated as director at BARDA, accusing the Trump administration of removing him from his position and demoting him to an NIH post in retaliation for his warnings about the virus and his opposition to off-label use of hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug that was promoted by President Donald Trump and his supporters as a potential miracle drug for COVID-19, but which increased mortality in subjects.[23] Bright suggested that the administration prioritized "cronyism over science" and was pressured to let politics drive decisions rather than science.[23][29][30][31][32][33]

On May 8, 2020, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel determined that there were "reasonable grounds to believe" that the Trump administration's HHS had unlawfully retaliated against Bright, in violation of the Whistleblower Protection Act, "because he made protected disclosures in the best interest of the American public."[25] The office recommended that Bright be reinstated as head of BARDA while the investigation is undertaken.[25] However, the recommendation was not binding on HHS,[25][2] and Bright was not reinstated.[2]

In written testimony at a May 14, 2020 hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Health Subcommittee (issued the previous day), Bright warned that "the darkest winter in modern history" could come in 2020 if the country failed to undertake a vigorous response to fight the virus: "Our window of opportunity is closing. If we fail to develop a national coordinated response, based in science, I fear the pandemic will get far worse and be prolonged, causing unprecedented illness and fatalities."[34] Bright told the subcommittee that "Lives were endangered, and I believe lives were lost" as a result of the administration's failure to heed his earlier warnings.[2] Bright is represented by attorney Debra Katz in connection with his whistleblower complaint.[2][19][25] Trump dismissed Bright as a "disgruntled employee" in Twitter posts.[2]

On October 6, 2020, Bright resigned from the government. In an addendum to his whistleblower complaint, Bright stated that, following his demotion, he had been given "no meaningful work" since September 4; that NIH officials had rejected his proposals for a national COVID-19 testing strategy "because of political considerations"; and that officials had ignored his request that he join the $10 billion Operation Warp Speed initiative to develop a COVID-19 vaccine.[2]

References

  1. ^ Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (5 May 2020). "Who is Rick Bright? The Coronavirus Whistle-Blower Who Said the Trump Administration Steered Contracts to Cronies". The New York Times.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (October 6, 2020). "Whistle-Blowing Scientist Quits Government With Final Broadside". New York Times.
  3. ^ Brangham, William; Kane, Jason (19 June 2019). "Why the race to stop the next flu outbreak starts at state fairs and the beach". PBS NewsHour.
  4. ^ Shear, Michael D.; Haberman, Maggie (22 April 2020). "Health Dept. Official Says Doubts on Hydroxychloroquine Led to His Ouster". The New York Times.
  5. ^ Collins, Kaitlan; Diamond, Jeremy; Liptak, Kevin (5 May 2020). "Ousted vaccine director files whistleblower complaint alleging coronavirus warnings were ignored". CNN.
  6. ^ a b Florko, Nicholas (5 May 2020). "Vaccine expert says demotion followed criticism of coronavirus response". STAT.
  7. ^ a b c Booker, Ashley (15 November 2016). "Hutchinson native selected for two Health and Human Services positions". The Hutchinson News.
  8. ^ a b Archibald, John (8 May 2020). "Scientist at odds with Trump Admin has Alabama roots". AL.com. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Witness Disclosure Requirement, CV: Rick A. Bright, PhD" (PDF). Committee on Energy and Commerce, U.S. House of Representatives. 6 March 2018.
  10. ^ a b c d Bright, Rick Arthur (2002). Studies on pathogenicity and control of H5N1 influenza A viruses in mice (PhD thesis). Emory University. ProQuest 276273683.
  11. ^ a b "Rick Bright Selected as New BARDA Director". Global Biodefense. 15 November 2016.
  12. ^ a b "BIO 2019 – Profile – Dr. Rick Bright". 2019 BIO International Convention. 2019.
  13. ^ Savage, Neil (18 September 2019). "The push for better flu therapies". Scientific American.
  14. ^ Exploring Lessons Learned from a Century of Outbreaks: Readiness for 2030, The National Academies Press, pp. 191-192, 2019. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  15. ^ a b "R&D Blueprint: Rick A. Bright". World Health Organization, Scientific Advisory Group members. May 2016.
  16. ^ Ousted federal official testifying on coronavirus response has extensive vaccine preparedness experience[permanent dead link], CNN, KTEN, Devan Cole and Caroline Kelly, May 13, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  17. ^ Owens, Brian (1 February 2018). "Zika vaccine development: two years on from the outbreak". The Pharmaceutical Journal.
  18. ^ "Director Rick Bright Moves to NIH to Head COVID-19 Testing R&D". Xconomy. 21 April 2020.
  19. ^ a b c "U.S. Office of Special Counsel Complaint & Disclosure Form: R Bright Complaint (redacted). Addendum to the Complaint of Prohibited Personnel Practice and Other Prohibited Activity by the Department of Health and Human Services Submitted by Dr. Rick Bright" (PDF). Katz Marshall & Banks. 5 May 2020.
  20. ^ "Biography: Rick A. Bright, Ph.D." U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response. Archived from the original on 4 April 2020.
  21. ^ Segers, Grace (23 April 2020). "HHS ousts vaccine expert who pushed back on COVID-19 treatment". CBS News.
  22. ^ Diamond, Dan (22 April 2020). "Ousted vaccine expert battles with Trump team over his abrupt dismissal". Politico.
  23. ^ a b c Rupar, Aaron (22 April 2020). "The HHS official overseeing coronavirus vaccine development says he was ousted after his objections to hydroxychloroquine". Vox.
  24. ^ Abutaleb, Yasmeen; McGinley, Laurie (5 May 2020). "Ousted vaccine official alleges he was demoted for prioritizing 'science and safety'". The Washington Post.
  25. ^ a b c d e Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (8 May 2020). "Federal Watchdog Says Coronavirus Whistle-Blower Should Be Reinstated as It Investigates". The New York Times.
  26. ^ "Exhibits submitted as part of Rick Bright's whistleblower complaint". The Washington Post. 5 May 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  27. ^ https://docs.house.gov/meetings/IF/IF14/20200514/110749/HHRG-116-IF14-Transcript-20200514.pdf
  28. ^ Bright, Rick (22 April 2020). "Read: Statement from leader of federal vaccine agency about his reassignment". CNN.
  29. ^ Adams, Ben (23 April 2020). "Ex-BARDA chief decries science taking back seat to politics, demands investigation into Trump administration". FierceBiotech.
  30. ^ "'Ousted' US vaccine expert to file complaint". BBC News. 24 April 2020.
  31. ^ "Dr. Bright: I was pressured to let politics, cronyism drive decisions over science". MSNBC. 5 May 2020.
  32. ^ Mangan, Dan (22 April 2020). "Top vaccine doctor says his concern about Trump's coronavirus treatment theory led to ouster from federal agency". CNBC.
  33. ^ Diamond, Jeremy; Collins, Kaitlan; Hoye, Matthew (23 April 2020). "Bright's ouster shines light on months of HHS turmoil". CNN.
  34. ^ Diamond, Jeremy; Collins, Kaitlin (May 13, 2020). "Rick Bright will warn Congress of 'darkest winter in modern history' without ramped up coronavirus response". CNN.
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